Former two-time Knicks All-Star Stephon Marbury clearly has a bone to pick with LeBron James.
Soon after James was named MVP of the 2024 Paris Olympics basketball tournament, Marbury — James’ teammate at the 2004 Athens Olympics — took to social media to explain why Stephen Curry was robbed of the award.
“They gave the MVP to the wrong player,” Marbury wrote. “Maybe they called out the wrong name by accident. I think we need to try to rewind the moment when [Curry] displayed himself as the best shooter who ever touched the ball. In international ball, if you can’t shoot, you can’t have the ball at the end of the game.”
“I get LeBron is the King to many, but let me say this: when you give him what he doesn’t deserve, you basically say that because of what he’s done, he should receive such a high honor on the biggest stage. No, he didn’t earn it this time.”
Both James and Curry were viable candidates to win men’s basketball MVP at the Olympics. While James averaged 14.2 points, 8.5 assists and 6.8 rebounds, Curry averaged 14.8 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.5 assists in the six games in Paris.
Former NBA player Stephon Marbury says LeBron James didn’t deserve being named the Olympics MVP over Steph Curry. 👀
Stephon Marbury Dismisses Michael Jordan Comparisons
The Bron hating didn’t stop there for Marbury, a retired NBA legend who last played in the league in 2009.
In an August 12 post on X, Marbury said James shouldn’t be “mentioned in the same breath” as Michael Jordan in the argument for the NBA’s greatest of all time.
Besides sharing the same locker room at the 2004 Athens Games, James and Marbury played against each other for six years in the NBA. As such, Marbury believes he’s as qualified as any player to voice his opinions about the Lakers star.
Marbury: LeBron James Yet to Surpass Kobe
In an interview with Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson, Marbury argued that James still had to surpass the legacy of Kobe Bryant before drawing comparisons with Jordan. While Jordan and Bryant won six and five NBA titles, respectively, James had won four entering the 2024-25 NBA season.
“LeBron’s a great player. Don’t get me wrong,” Marbury said on August 13. “A great, great player. Unbelievable. Amazing. But better than Michael Jordan? It’s not even the same. It’s just different. In fact, it needs no explanation or explaining because we can’t talk about Jordan’s game. It’s like we need to talk about what people are not.”
“People wanna rank Jordan? Jordan shouldn’t even be ranked,” Marbury continued. “It should be Kobe, then LeBron and then you can pick guys after that. There’s just no comparison man. It’s not the same. It’s just different worlds. Different mentalities. I don’t know why Jordan’s name is mentioned in the same conversation sometimes. I’ll clear that up real quick. … There’s really no need to talk about that.”
Stephon Marbury on GOAT debate: “LeBron’s a great player. Don’t get me wrong. A great, great player. Unbelievable. Amazing. But better than Michael Jordan? – it’s not even the same. It’s just different. In fact, it needs no explanation or explaining because we can’t talk about…
Some believe Marbury’s scathing criticism of James stems from the latter ignoring him during the Paris Olympics. According to a video on X, James refused to celebrate with Marbury, who sat in the front row watching the basketball games in Paris. James was seen celebrating with Carmelo Anthony, another onlooker, but ignoring Marbury after Team USA captured their fifth consecutive Olympic gold medal.
Another theory is the existing bad blood between Marbury and James. Marbury was critical of James after the death of Kobe Bryant in 2020. The retired guard implied that James had shown “fake love” to Bryant when he hated the “Black Mamba” during his playing days. Marbury also referred to James as a “fake Laker” who’d never win over the Purple & Gold fan base the way Bryant did.
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Ex-Teammate Blasts LeBron James, Says He’s Not on MJ’s Level