Lakers-Warriors Series Could Change How Expert Ranks LeBron James, Stephen Curry
ESPN personality Stephen A. Smith revealed on a recent vintage of "First Take" that he believed today's ongoing second round playoff matchup between Stephen Curry's Golden State Warriors and LeBron James' Los Angeles Lakers could have a significant impact on how he views both future Hall of Fame greats.
"Sit down, and I want you to grab your seat belt, for what I'm about to say," Smith told longtime NBA vet-turned-ESPN broadcaster J.J. Redick. "If Steph Curry beats LeBron in this series, and dare I say, wins his fifth NBA championship, we might have to remove LeBron James off of Mount Rushmore and put Steph Curry on it," Smith said. "That's right I said it. Now my Mount Rushmore is Jordan, LeBron, Kareem [Abdul-Jabbar], and Bill Russell."
"I believe that LeBron James is the second best player in the history of basketball," Smith offered. "This ain't about throwing any shade on him. It's about elevating Steph. And I'm looking at Steph. You're 3-1 against [LeBron James] in the Finals."
To be fair, in those three matchups, Curry never won a Finals MVP award. Although there's a good argument to be made that voters were being too cute when they made Andre Iguodala the Finals MVP over Curry, no one in their right mind would say that Curry was better than Kevin Durant during Golden State's 2017 and 2018 title runs.
Until this postseason, where we've seen a healthier Davis outplay just about everyone with whom he shares the floor (also, James is 38 and playing through a right foot tendon injury), I don't think anyone considered any of LeBron James' various Hall of Fame teammates to ever be better than James when on the same club.
"Well how's Kevin Durant doing without Steph Curry?" Smith wondered a few moments later in his monologue. Durant's Phoenix Suns are down 0-2 to the top-seeded Denver Nuggets, and have lost their own Hall of Fame starting point guard, Chris Paul, for the next three contests.
"That's point No. 1. Point No. 2: Didn't LeBron need [Dwyane Wade] and [Chris] Bosh to win his first two? What about the third that he got [where Draymond Green was suspended in Game 5 in 2016 and changed the course of the series]?" Smith continued.
"My point is, when you look at it from that perspective, the greatness of Steph Curry... the greatest shooter god ever created, a two-time league MVP, a four-time champion and it would be five times [in this hypothetical], three of those times he beat LeBron," Smith said. "And oh by the way, he played three years at Davison, he didn't come straight out of high school, okay? So he's still got time... I'm just saying, I'm not trying to say that Steph Curry belongs on [Smith's Mount Rushmore], I'm saying that it's a discussion if he beats LeBron and he wins a fifth 'chip, it's a discussion that somebody can't just dismiss. You still might go with LeBron, 'cause LeBron is obviously a more complete, better all-around player."
With that little caveat at the end, Smith kind of undid his entire prior argument. That's just it: even if Curry goes on to win a fifth title, it doesn't really take away much from James' claim to a spot among the NBA's all-time top four players. Curry has become a solid defender, but he was never the two-way menace James was in his prime. To surpass James, Curry would need more accolades than another title would provide. This writer is also skeptical that either the Lakers or Warriors will be able to beat the Denver Nuggets in the next round.
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