While the 2023-24 campaign didn’t end up going the Golden State Warriors’ way, it ended up being an inadvertent testament to Stephen Curry’s greatness. While many of the Warriors role players struggled, Curry remained individually magnificent, and was really the main reason Golden State managed to find their way into the Play-In Tournament.
Despite that, they lost to the Sacramento Kings and didn’t make it into the playoffs, which is something that Tracy McGrady noted when discussing Curry’s legacy. While Curry was undoubtedly phenomenal this season, McGrady believes that Curry’s inability to guide the Warriors to the postseason is proof that he isn’t a top five player all time.
Does Tracy McGrady’s reasoning for Stephen Curry snub make sense?
This is an interesting stance from McGrady, because for the most part, Curry was heavily praised for keeping the Warriors competitive this season. His per game numbers weren’t necessarily the best they have ever been (26.4 PPG, 5.1 APG, 4.5 RPG, 45 FG%), but given the struggles of his teammates, he was receiving more attention from opposing defenses than ever before.
In McGrady’s eyes, though, Curry didn’t do enough this season for his liking. Other all-time greats have managed to overcome more to at least lead their team to the postseason. Curry’s inability to do so proves to McGrady that he simply isn’t a top-five player all time, which was an opinion that quickly made the rounds on social media.
Curry’s standing among the NBA’s all-time greats has been the subject of much debate for years. There’s no doubt that he has had a massive impact on the modernization of the game of basketball with his outrageous three-point shooting, and he’s very clearly one of the greatest winners the league has ever seen, as he’s won four championships throughout his career.
But Curry has always had a lot of help alongside him, as he’s spent his entire career playing alongside the likes of stars in Klay Thompson and Draymond Green. Not to mention, Kevin Durant came to town and played a very big role in helping Curry win two of those four titles. The question of whether he can actually win on his own is fair, and McGrady believes this season proved that he simply wasn’t up to the task.
Of course, it’s worth noting that this may be a premature discussion of sorts, because Curry is still adding to his legacy, even though this tough campaign for the Warriors has left a bad taste in the mouths of many fans. However, time is running out for Curry to build upon what he’s accomplished already, and while many fans will disagree with McGrady’s take, if he wants to sway the group of people that are siding with him, he’s going to have to get back to his winning ways next year.
