In a now-deleted comment on Instagram, former NBA veteran Stephon Marbury was caught taking a dig at LeBron James. The message was simple: the King did not deserve to win the MVP of the Olympic basketball tournament.
“They gave the MVP to the wrong player,” wrote Marbury. “Maybe they called out the wrong name by accident. I think we need to try to rewind the moment when Stephen Curry displayed himself as the best shooter who ever touched the ball. In international ball, if you can’t shoot, you can’t have the ball at the end of the game. I get LeBron is the King to many, but let me say this: when you give him what he doesn’t deserve, you basically say that because of what he’s done, he should receive such a high honor on the biggest stage. No, he didn’t earn it this time.”
Team USA went undefeated in the Olympics this summer and took home a gold medal for the 17th time in history. With stars such as LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, and Joel Embiid, the USA was heavily favored to win from the jump and they once again delivered on the ultra-high expectations.
LeBron James won MVP of the tournament for his efforts at 39 years old. He averaged 14.2 points, 8.5 assists, 6.8 rebounds, and 1.3 steals per game on 66% shooting. He was the best player for Team USA all summer and consistently came through for them when they needed a leader on the floor.
According to Marbury and others, however, LeBron didn’t deserve the MVP. He believes that it should have gone to Stephen Curry instead, who averaged 30 points in the tournament’s semifinal and gold medal games. After a slow start in the first few games, Steph exploded from the field to help the USA win the whole thing.
In the eyes of many critics, Curry deserved to be the MVP over LeBron, who some would argue only got it because of his track record as a 4x champion, 4x MVP, and 3x gold medalist. As one of the pioneers of the game, LeBron commands a different level of respect across the league and some believe that it compels people to shower him with praise and recognition.
At this point, LeBron isn’t just a legend of the game — he’s the greatest ever to countless fans, experts, and players alike. When it comes to the Olympics, LeBron is clearly one of the most accomplished and he was critical in the USA’s gold medal victory.
This time, however, James wasn’t the only athlete worthy of MVP honors. Steph, in his first-ever Olympics, put on a show for the entire world and he opened up the floor for his teammates in a way that no other shooter could. Sadly, at 36 years old, this was likely Steph’s last summer in the games and it was his last chance to win a gold medal before it’s all said and done.
Even though he wasn’t MVP, Curry left a strong impression on everyone and he made his impact felt as a selfless, three-point scoring legend.
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