Tracy McGrady’s statements on Stephen Curry took the global basketball community by shock! According to the Hall of Famer, Steph doesn’t belong in the Top 10 or even Top 5. His reasons? Apparently, if a player is supposed to have his name on the top lists, the least they have to do is get the team in the playoffs. Just because one or two players (the said players are Draymond Green and Klay Thompson – two of the GSW key pieces) were a no-show most of the time, shouldn’t disrupt the greatest shooter from pulling his team over the edge.
“Greatness to me is when one of your guys is out, you still have to elevate your team at least to the playoffs,” McGrady said. Well, you can imagine the chaos that ensued! While we aren’t sure if this has reached the Clutch Player of the Year’s ears, it certainly has caught the attention of his brands – Under Armour and Curry Brand.
They took to Instagram to share what exactly they thought about T-Mac’s views. uabasketball (Under Armour), commented, “Between this and Gill [Arenas] the internet has lost its damn mind. I’m signing off,” followed by a peace emoji. It wasn’t that long since Gilbert Arenas disputed the fact that Stephen Curry wasn’t a generational talent. He was simply a great basketball player.
Generational talents, according to Arenas, are those who come only once every few decades. To further clarify his point, the podcaster cited the examples of Magic Johnson, Shaquille O’Neal, LeBron James, and the most recent, Victor Wembanyama.
Curry Brand, for its part, posted a simple stat. “4>0,” referring to the number of rings Steph holds as opposed to Tracy McGrady.
But what period was McGrady referring to when he talked about Thompson and Green missing time?
Was Tracy McGrady justified in his comments about Stephen Curry?
Well, the points T-Mac mentioned, that of the seasons that Klay and Dray missed, happened thrice in the last five years. Thompson missed the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons, courtesy of the injuries that changed one of the greatest shooters completely. As for Green, he played in fewer than 55 games in 2019-20, 2021-22, and this season.
But, the only time in between that the Golden State posted the worst record was in 2019-20, 15-50. The same season that Curry underwent a hand surgery for a broken second metacarpal. However, right in the next season, Steph led the team to a 39-33 record, finishing 9th in the Conference and 4th in the Division. Not to mention, the 4x champion led the league in average points per game (32.0) and came third in the MVP voting.
This season too, Stephen Curry wasn’t too far behind. He led the team in average points per game. The Dubs also had a 46-36 record despite the rocky season. ‘Chef Curry’ was named the Clutch Player of the Year, 10th All-NBA Selection, became a three-point scoring champion for the 8th time, and is getting ready for his Olympic debut.
So, all those Curry loyalists and even simple admirers of his games might find Grady’s criticism a little difficult to swallow. After all, the one thing Stephen Curry has been is consistent.
Before you go, another matter foremost in our mind is about our beloved Inside the NBA crew. While many are sure they are going to be disbanded, Shaq’s confidante and ex-agent, Leonard Armato, thinks otherwise. To know more about his comments, watch this video.