Getty Steph Curry reacts to a play during the 2022 NBA Finals.
Kevin Garnett was more than a little miffed at his former teammate’s assessment of Golden State Warriors star Steph Curry.
The NBA legend appeared with former Boston Celtics teammate Paul Pierce on a podcast of All The Smoke when they discussed Curry’s legacy, and Pierce admitted was still undecided about whether the Warriors star was among the all-time greats. Pierce said he believed that Curry still had to add some more accomplishments to his resume before he could be considered one of the 10 best ever to play the game.
Garnett, who in the past has compared Curry to Michael Jordan, wasn’t having it.
KG Defends Curry’s Legacy
Speaking with Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson on the podcast’s NBA season preview, Pierce revealed that he didn’t have Curry in his all-time top 10 list. He said the two-time league MVP could jump into consideration if he led the Warriors to another title, but wasn’t there yet.
Garnett vehemently disagreed, saying that Curry has changed the way the game is played.
“You tripping,” Garnett admonished his former teammate. “The man changed the game, the way you shoot the ball. Secondly, he does it on a consistent basis. Every guard that’s under 6 foot thinks that they are Steph Curry and shoot the ball. The pick-up on him is as soon as he crosses half-court. He changed the game, he’s got every guard thinking they’ve got range.”
Kevin Garnett strongly arguing why Stephen Curry is a top 10 player.
Says Paul Pierce is “trippin” for not agreeing 😂
Pierce said that he has a lot of respect for the generation of players that came before him, mentioning Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain, but Garnett said Curry deserves to be listed among those players.
“We been gracious to be in the MJ era, we been gracious to be in the Kob era, even Shaq, Shaq changed the game,” he said. “Man come on, man. This man has changed the game. He made every guard think they got range.”
While he may have little left to accomplish on the basketball court, Curry did fill in one of the remaining holes on his resume last season, winning his first-ever NBA Finals MVP.
Garnett Backs Warriors Star
Garnett has long been a big backer of the Warriors star. When ESPN’s Baxter Holmes interviewed Garnett for a story about the rise of Andrew Wiggins last season, he made sure to share some love for Curry as well.
“He’s playing with the Michael Jordan of his era,” Garnett said. “The knowledge that he takes not just from Steve Kerr and that coaching staff but that pedigree of excellence that they push around there in Golden State — you can’t come in there and be less than. Those are champions in there. Those guys have won together. They’ve been in the grit. They’ve been in the foxhole together. I think it motivates him.”
Garnett didn’t just come to this conclusion about Curry recently. Back in 2015, at the start of Golden State’s dynasty that so far has brought four titles over the course of eight seasons, Garnett was already comparing him to Jordan.
“Like Michael Jordan was a whole other thing, [Curry] is his own thing,” Garnett said at the time. “It’s beautiful for basketball.”