Stephen A. Smith showered some heavy praise on Stephen Curry when a fan asked him if he’d pick Curry or Reggie Miller with the last shot of the game on his podcast. Smith deferred to Michael Jordan as the greatest closer in NBA history, naming Curry as the second greatest.
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“I still believe Steph Curry is the greatest shooter God ever created. I’m not saying he has the resume that says you take him over Reggie Miller in closing moments. I’m saying he’s so phenomenal as a shooter, I can’t in good conscience, pick anybody over Steph Curry with the last shot on the line, whose name ain’t Michael Jordan.”
Smith implied he’d pick Curry over LeBron James and Kobe Bryant as well, which could be a hot take. LeBron does have a pretty impressive highlight reel of playoff game-winners and tying shots, while Curry is just unbelievable as a shooter. The stats for James make a compelling case for him, with 11 made clutch shots in the playoffs since 1997, a list that Curry doesn’t feature in the top 20 of.
Kobe is one of the leaders of clutch points scored since tracking began in 1996/97, a marvelous feat given he retired in 2016. Kobe has 2,369 clutch points over his career.
Michael Jordan is an incredible closer and could unanimously be picked for this situation. He has the stats, he has the legendary moments, and he has the championships with an undefeated record to make his argument. It’s closer between LeBron and Steph, and we can’t fault Smith for going with Steph when I personally would go with LeBron.
Stephen Curry And Michael Jordan’s Influence Is Very Different
Smith named the two players that many consider generation-defining, but their influence isn’t the same. Gilbert Arenas explained how their impact on the game differs.
“Everybody thinks they can be Steph [Curry], everybody wanted to be Jordan. Overall Michael Jordan was the standard of what to be an NBA player was. Michael Jordan made us want to be basketball players. We knew we were gonna get killed or beat up for wearing his shoes but we went out and risked our lives anyway. The reason that there are online shoe sales is because of Michael Jordan.”
Ultimately, they’re both game-changing athletes that left the game different from how it was when they came. Curry can call himself the greatest shooter while Jordan can call himself the flat-out GOAT, but they are both incredible ambassadors for the game.
Stephen Curry Hoping For A Title-Winning 2023/24 Season
If Curry needs better pure numbers to justify his clutch shooting ability, he could very easily enter the 2024 Playoffs and do some incredible things to cement the opinion Smith has. But to be in that position, the Warriors need to be a competitive team with championship aspirations. Every year with Curry on the roster is a year the Warriors need to compete, especially with his current age.
Curry revealed the key to a successful season with the Warriors this year.
“A smart basketball team that is connected, right? Coach has been saying that since he first got back from Team USA. Talking about our team we need to be connected, we need to be in a position where we all complement each other when we’re out there on the floor.”
Adjusting to the addition of Chris Paul and playing with the cloud of Klay Thompson’s future could be distracting, but it could also be a uniting force for these stars. A title-winning campaign would ensure he gets what he wants in free agency and Paul can extend his career after his contract expires at the end of this season.
They’re hoping for another parade in the Bay Area, and hopefully, it can be a reality.
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