Over the summer, LeBron James and Stephen Curry graced the basketball court together as teammates for the first time. They both joined Team USA and led the national team to a gold medal finish at the 2024 Paris Olympics. At the end of the tournament, James went home with the 2024 Olympic Basketball Championship MVP.
While most fans were impressed with how James performed, not everyone had the same thought. Former NBA star Stephon Marbury said Curry should’ve had the MVP award over James.
“Steph Curry would’ve got the MVP, period,” Marbury said. “You watch the energy shift, the whole planet watched Steph Curry do what he did. Two games in a row.
“LeBron was standing there, fronting, acting like he wanted the basketball. He ain’t really wanna shoot no three.”
“He played well… you not carrying tight KD and Steph. You’re playing well and you’re doing all of the things that you do as a basketball player and it works, it connects. It’s no, you did that and we didn’t do anything because we are not capable. As people started to go to sleep and wake up, they started to be like, ‘You know what? He probably should’ve gotten the MVP.’ But it was a great way for LeBron to end his script.”
“Steph Curry should of got that MVP period… the whole planet watched Steph Curry do what he did 2 games in a row… you [LeBron James] not carrying with KD and Steph.” 👀
-Stephon Marbury
(via @WhistleSports)
pic.twitter.com/ALSgrHdECy— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) December 10, 2024
James won the MVP with an average of 14.3 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 7.3 assists. The 2024 Paris Games could be the final run of the Los Angeles Lakers star with the national team. Curry, on the other hand, could still participate in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
Marbury has always been critical of LeBron James
Marbury has never held back when expressing his thoughts about LeBron James. In talking about why Curry deserved the Olympic MVP over James, the former New York Knicks star criticized James’ shooting.
“They think I’m a LeBron James hater. I love LeBron James as a basketball player. They get mad because I don’t agree that he’s a better player than Michael Jordan. I played against all three of them. I’ve never seen Jordan and Kobe shoot an airball at the free-throw line. Have you?” Marbury said (21:05).
In the video, Marbury criticized James’ position on the GOAT debate. According to him, the Lakers star shouldn’t be considered a player who’s comparable to Michael Jordan because he isn’t close to the late Kobe Bryant.
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Reign also writes NBA and WNBA news updates on Sportskeeda. He started as a feature writer for AirAlamo, an NBA website that covers the San Antonio Spurs. Some of his work can also be seen with Valley of the Suns, a Phoenix Suns-centric website, where he served as a contributing writer.
