A lot of people believe that if Golden State Warriors superstar Stephen Curry retires today, he would be a sure-fire Hall of Famer. Apparently, one Michael Jeffrey Jordan does not share the same sentiments.
The man considered as the consensus greatest basketball player of all time made headlines last night when he claimed that Stephen Curry isn't a Hall of Famer yet.
To provide some context, the six-time NBA champion appeared in a one-on-one interview on Today with Craig Martin and was promoting his new tequila and having a drink with the talk show host. Martin asked Jordan if he still stands by his previous claim that he, along with Magic Johnson, Hakeem Olajuwon, Scottie Pippen, and James Worthy would be unbeatable in any pickup game.
Jordan's mind never changed even with the all that has happened in the NBA the past six years. When the Chicago Bulls legend made his claim, Martin then suddenly asked if Curry should find no offense when he sees the interview, to which Jordan responded with a wry smile:
“I hope not. He’s still a great player. Not a Hall of Famer yet though.”
“He’s still a great player, not a hall of famer yet, though,” Michael Jordan jokes about Steph Curry as he tells @craigmelvin he’d keep the same four guys (Hakeem Olajuwon, Magic Johnson, Scottie Pippen and James Worthy) to play against anyone with pic.twitter.com/tDBQKjDQAa
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) October 21, 2019
How strong is that tequila, Mr. Jordan?
Technically, he's correct. Steph is obviously still active and is still in the prime of his career.
You can argue that Jordan just said what he said for the giggles. But, what if the Chicago Bulls legend really believes deep down that Curry hasn't yet carved out a career worthy of the Hall?
Of course, coming from someone who gave Hall of Fame money to someone like Terry Rozier, nobody would buy Jordan's crazy claim. Jordan may be the GOAT, but when it comes to assessing talent, he is way down on that list.
There is without a doubt that Stephen Curry – if he walks away from the game right now – is going to shimmy his way into the Hall of Fame, and a first ballot at that..
The career resume really speaks for itself. Among the accolades: three-time NBA champion, two-time NBA MVP, six-time All-Star, six-time All-NBA team member, currently third on the all-time three-pointers list and will be first in a couple of seasons. In fact, he's already widely considered as the greatest shooter that ever lived – and he's still just 31 years old.
Then let's talk about the overall impact he has had on the game. Curry revolutionized the three-pointer as the most important weapon in basketball. The two-time MVP is ultimately responsible for ushering in this era of pace-and-space basketball in the NBA. Almost every team in the league is playing fast and is heavily reliant on the three-ball.
Curry is such a master of his craft that teams adjust their defenses just to try to contain him, especially from beyond the arc. Teams often focus their gameplan on how to stop him from going off; and nine times out of ten, their defenses fail to do so.
Really, the only debate here is whether Jordan was actually joking with his statement or not. Debating whether Curry is already a Hall of Famer right now is just plain ludicrous at this point, because for sure, he already is.
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