Why Steph Isn’t One of the Top 10 NBA Players of All Time, by T-Mac originally appeared in NBC Sports Bay Area
Steph Curry was once again subject to slander from a retired NBA player. After all, it is a day that ends in “-y”.
The latest culprit is Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer Tracy McGrady. The 45-year-old left the superstar Warriors off his list of the top 10 NBA players of all time, and he had an interesting reasoning for doing so.
Here’s what McGrady said Sunday in a video he posted on X (formerly known as Twitter):
“He hasn’t cracked my top 10 yet – he just hasn’t,” McGrady said on Sunday. “I think Steph has had a phenomenal career. Obviously, four championships, two league MVPs [and] he has a Finals MVP.
“But if you go back through his career and see when Draymond [Green] is out of the lineup for the season [and] when Klay Thompson is out for the season or half the season, for me, if you’re so ‘great’, if you’re going to be in the top five [player]and one of your guys is missing and you can’t make the playoffs, I can’t put you in the top five or top ten – I just can’t.
McGrady did not share his top 10 list of all time in the video.
He did, however, list some of Curry’s notable achievements. However, the seven times NBA All-Star seemed unimpressed.
McGrady believes Curry’s inability to take an injury-riddled 15-50 Golden State team to the playoffs during the Coronavirus-impacted 2019-2020 NBA season keeps him far from the NBA’s all-time top 10. game – which is quite difficult.
But McGrady wasn’t finished. He has doubled what he considers to be “greatness”.
“The great thing for me is when one of your players is out, you still have to get your team to at least the playoffs,” McGrady added. “They don’t even make the playoffs when Klay or Draymond are out of the lineup. And they didn’t win one [NBA] Game [Tournament] game at all.
“So, top five? No way.
McGrady’s use of Golden State’s team performance in relation to Curry’s all-time rankings doesn’t make much sense considering the topic is about individual players and not team rosters or season results.
Still, Curry has the hardware to prove he’s always been a team-oriented player. And he averaged 24.8 points, 6.4 assists and 4.7 rebounds over his 15-year NBA career, while McGrady averaged just 19.6 points, 5.6 rebounds and 4.4 assists . As a player or teammate, Curry has done a lot.
Curry will retire as one of the best to ever play in the NBA. McGrady, a fellow guard, doesn’t want to see No. 30’s name at the top of any list.
