The Stephen A. Smith ShowStephen A's Take: Steph Curry was Unworldly. Olympic Triplets: Lebron, Curry and Durant, deliver the GOLD!
Stephen A. Smith is a New York Times Bestselling Author, Executive Producer, host of ESPN's First Take, and co-host of NBA Countdown.
I got to give props to Team USA.
You know, I have told y'all on many occasions that Steph Curry is the greatest shooter that God has ever created. And damn it, he make me out to be a liar now, I know, even struggling leading up to the semifinals against Serbia and ultimately the gold medal game against France. But when all was said and done, seventeen for twenty seven from three point range in the semifinals and a close out game for.
The gold medal. That's sixty three percent shooter for three point range, y'all. That's sixty three percent shoots from three point rangey'all.
And let me tell you something, right now, did he do it and do and failed to do so in dramatic fashion?
No? He did not. Brother this this brother showed up.
Steph Curry was absolutely positively sensational. Twelve points all on threes, four threes in the last two minutes and forty eight seconds of the championship game. It was beautiful seeing Carmelo Anthony and Draymond Green and those brothers courts are. It was beautiful seeing Lebron James, you know, adopt the Steph Curry.
It's by by Night Night. This is what it is.
Okay, the greatest shooter that God ever created, A man that Steve Kerk should be thinking.
His lucky stars showed up and produced.
I told y'all before the Olympics began, it's gonna come down to the ability to shoot perimeter shots, particularly.
From three point range. I gotta give love to a few people.
I gotta give love to joellenbi who showed up like a monster in the semifinal game against Jokic and Serbia with nineteen points. I gotta give love to Devin Booker, who was a model of consistency in these Olympic.
Games and the way that he played. I just gotta give love where love is.
Due, because it's important to point out Devin Booker fifty eight percent shoot from the field, fifty nine percent shooting from three point range, averaged eleven point seven points a game in these series. Okay, of course, you see Kevin Durant right there, a gold medal game, thirty one minutes, fifteen points, Devin Booker twenty eight minutes.
Fifteen points.
Both of them were efficient, both of them hit threes, both of them showed up. Kevin Durant, four Olympic gold medals, shot five first ballot, future Hall of Famer. Was absolutely spectacular as far as I'm got a little quiet down the stretch as the games waned, and I understand it, but overall, a model of consistency.
What did he do? Fifty four point eight percent.
Shooting for the field, fifty two percent shooting.
From three point range. He showed up.
Okay, Anthony Edwards, let's not forget him his first Olympic competition. Fifty eight percent shooting, forty eight percent from three point range. Average, okay, twelve point eight points per game. But the top three dudes was your eldest statesman. It's a Steph Curry aged thirty five. It's a Lebron James aged thirty nine, It's a Kevin Durant, aged thirty five.
Give love where love is, dude. Team USA.
They showed up, They represented our nation, They handled their beause. I want to hear all of these comparisons to the Dream Team, the original Dream Team.
I get all of that.
You know, I'm gonna favor them, Jordan and the rest of the crew and what they were capable of doing. But we ain't taken away from what we saw Team USA do and Steph Curry. My god, this brother is so special it's just hard to put in the words. And I think a legitimate argument can be made right now, as great as Lebron James, as phenomenal as Lebron James, as spectacular as Lebron James is.
I mean, can it get any better marketing wise.
Than Steph Curry At this particular moment in time, he was already to babyface assassin. He's already a four time champion, a two time League MVP, the greatest shooter ever known to man. He was already that. But then to come into this situation and to be shooting and playing porous, as Anthony Edwards articulated, he show up until three days ago or so, But boy, I'm glad he did. This brother shows up and he just put on the show. Nine three pointers in one game, eight three pointers in another.
Four straight in the last two forty eight.
Including that last one behind the back, stepping back over two dudes at least six ' ten or above and launching the three, and then putting the bye by night night with Carmelo Anthony screaming court side. In the whole bit and Draymond Green egging him on, let's go, let's go pounding the court, Let's go like they do in Golden State. That's Steph Curry showed up, showed up, and I can't say enough about it.
Let me say this, Lebron James was the MVP.
He's the one that ultimately captured MVP for the Olympics, being named Olympics MVP. I thought Steph Curry deserved it, But under no circumstance am I throwing any shade on Lebron James for getting it, because he was a model of consistency in these games. Sixty six percent shooting from the field, fourteen point two points, six point eight rebounds, eight point five assist, threw a couple of a triple doubles up in there during the Olympic competition. The man, what can you say about Lebron James. I'm trying to put in the words rocking, the Graybeard, putting his age on display, and experience, all in proper contexts thirty nine, going on forty twenty first season, entering his twenty second year in the NBA, Ladies and Gentlemen, He's still see better condition than practically everybody out there.
He still seemed faster than most of the dudes out there.
Lebron James is just phenomenal, just phenomenal. Major mad Love goes to him for being the leader.
That he was, for stepping up the way he did.
Throughout the Olympic competition, led a group of Olympians for Team USA. I mean, I'm just thinking about it. Remember that sneaky behind the back pass he threw the Devin Booker.
It was beautiful.
Don pc threw court linked to Steph Curry four to three pair of dunks as well.
I'm just looking at it, rocking the gold sneakers.
Apropost, on his part, warn for marketing reasons. Of course, I can't say enough about him. I'm not throwing any shade on him. It's just that when you are as spectacular as Steph Curry was, and a game against Serbia that would have denied Team USA a trip to the gold medal game if Steph Curry hadn't showed up and saved the day, dropping thirty six, and then in a gold medal game, the twenty four that he scored okay, all on three pointers and oh, by the way, four four in the last two forty eight, ladies, Joe, Look, can you say it was spectacular? Steph Curry was spectacular? And you saw Lebron, and you saw KD and you saw everybody deferring to Steph Curry because when you get hot like that, you know who to get.
The dad ball to. So that's what it is. I thought Steph Curry deserved.
D MVP because of that, not because Lebron wasn't great, because he was. But when you steal pivotal moments like that to secure gold in two thrillers Serbia and then France, you deserve the MVP. I thought step should have got it.
But I ain't knocking Lebron one bit. I just thought step should have got it.
Also wanted to take a moment before I move on. I'm not gonna be insulting because he doesn't deserve it. Steve Kurr is one of the greatest coaches who've ever lived. He's one of the greatest champions we've ever known. Three as a player with the Chicago Bulls, two as a player with the San Antonio Spurs, if I remember correctly.
Four as the head coach of the Golden State Warriors.
That's nine championships. Not many people can say that Steve curR is one of the greatest ever. But I don't give a damn what anybody says. There's no excuse to not play Jason Tatum in two games.
This is no excuse for it. I don't care what anybody says. I don't care what anybody says.
And I think the thing that was most egregious about what Steve Kerr did with Jason Tatum was admitting that he went to him before one of the games, I believe it was against Serby and said to him, it's gonna be difficult for us to find you minutes tonight. Jason Tatum is one of the greatest players in the NBA, one of the greatest players in the world. He's a reigning defending champion. In the last three years, he's been First Team All NBA, and two of the dudes on the team who were receiving playing time are guys who spend all year long deferring.
To him as members of the Boston Celtics.
How in God's name could you justify not finding minutes for Jason Tatum in any game?
In any game. I don't give a damn what.
Steve Curs says that was egregious, but his job was to bring home goal and that's what he did. His job was to win a championship, helping Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen. He did that hit a big time shot to win a championship for Jordan and Chicago against Utah. It was to help them, along with Dennis Robbin do that, and San Antonio has helped Tim Duncan and Tony p oh Can Monad Genovai do the same. As the head coach of the Golden State Warris, it was his job to guide them the championships and he did it on four occasions. Steve curged to be not just respected but revered, but that doesn't mean he's perfect.
And I just think.
That that's a hard pillar swallow.
If I was Jason Tatum, I never look at him the same. Never. That's just me
