It’s been another remarkable season for Golden State Warriors point guard Stephen Curry. He broke the all-time three-point record, and the Warriors reached the NBA Finals for the sixth time in eight seasons. NBA legend Tracy McGrady though, isn’t too impressed with Curry’s legacy.
Curry has had an inconsistent playoff, with his point total dropping in each round until the Finals.
He won the first Magic Johnson Western Conference Finals MVP award after averaging 23.8 points in five games. Against the Boston Celtics, however, Curry’s scored over 30 points twice on nearly 50% shooting from beyond the arc.
It seems like whenever the stage gets bigger, Curry steps up in the NBA Finals, resulting in three titles. But, for McGrady, the star guard’s career is difficult to judge. The seven-time All-Star told NBC Sports Washington that Curry isn’t on the same level as some Laker greats:
“We know Steph is like the 3-point God. But when it comes to putting him with [Michael Jordan] and these guys that won that level of championships; Kobe [Bryant] and Magic Johnson, I don’t know where to rank him. I know he’s pretty high. But I think those guys are in a different class than Steph Curry based off of [all of that]. They’re on championship teams. K.D. came and joined the Warriors and became the best player and helped Steph win two more championships. But Steph wasn’t the best player on that team.”
Kobe and Magic have five rings to Curry’s three. But, McGrady points out flaws in Curry’s championship rings.
He argues that in 2015, Curry beat a wounded Cleveland Cavaliers team with just LeBron James and no Kyrie Irving or Kevin Love. Then, Kevin Durant joined in 2016 and won two championships along with Curry. But Durant is the Finals MVP twice and was the best player on the team, McGrady said.
If Curry can battle past the Celtics this season, McGrady might have to reevaluate his claim about Curry’s legacy.
Curry is curious about a partnership with LeBron
In a fantasy world, LeBron and Curry are on the same team, winning titles and dominating the league. But this isn’t a fantasy, and for now, at least, the chances of the two being on the same team are slim.
Curry though said, “there’s like curiosity” regarding the two being on the same team. This came after LeBron said Curry is a player he’d love to play with someday. Curry shut that door after signing a 4-year extension with the Warriors last summer. LeBron’s hopes lie on the Warriors drafting Bronny.
