Stephen Curry is credited for changing the way the game of basketball is played in the modern era. His former Golden State Warriors teammate, Klay Thompson, is also recognized as one of the greatest shooters of all time. But there’s someone who often gets overlooked while these honors are handed out. During an appearance on The Mark Jackson Show, Isiah Thomas set the record straight.
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Zeke gave props to Mark Jackson for instilling confidence in both the stars, which would later go on to change the league. He stated that if it wasn’t for the courage the former Warriors coach gave the Splash Bros from 2011-2014, we wouldn’t know about Steph and Klay at the scale we do now.
He said, “If Mark Jackson don’t let Steph shoot from the hashmark, don’t let Klay take bad shots and don’t pump them up and say ‘These are the greatest shooters ever,’ there would be no Steph, there would be no Klay.”
Thomas hailed Jackson for putting his own reputation on the line because he saw something special in both of them.
The Pistons legend also called out coaches who now claim that they have done the same thing. He believes that Jackson should get his due credit from a historical perspective. Zeke hopes that when Steph takes center stage on the night he is inducted into the Hall of Fame, he will remember Jackson’s contributions.
“I hope when he goes into the Hall of Fame, he remembers you as the first person that gave him that type of confidence that he plays with today.”
Steph will likely remember Jackson’s contributions because he has admitted that he fought with the organization to save his coach’s job.
Stephen Curry tried to keep Mark Jackson around
During an appearance on The Old Man and The Three podcast, Steph talked about the time when the Warriors were trying to get rid of Jackson as the head coach. The former All-Star took the Warriors to consecutive playoff appearances, for the first time in 20 years. Despite that, he was fired by the organization as they wanted someone who could take them to the ultimate glory.
He said, “The way he’s [Bob Myers] approached the job, the good decisions that he’s made and bringing Coach [Steve] Kerr in, which was a really tumultuous conversation, situation, because I was fighting it like hell… Not [fighting] against Steve. I didn’t want them to fire Mark for anything.”
Despite his attempts, Jackson was fired from the job and Steve Kerr took charge in 2014. The following year, the Warriors won a championship and set the foundation of the Dubs dynasty.
