Did the Warriors’ fourth title and Steph Curry’s Finals MVP silence
doubters? Well, not all of them.
Skip Bayless said Steph was only 'good' in Thursday's 34-point, NBA
Finals-clinching effort to earn the Warriors' fourth title.
>BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS – JUNE 16: Golden State Warriors’ Stephen Curry
(30) holds up the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy and the MVP trophy
with his parents Sonya and Dell following their 103-90 win over the
Boston Celtics in Game 6 to win the NBA Finals at TD Garden in Boston,
Mass., on Thursday, June 16, 2022. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
>BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS – JUNE 16: Golden State Warriors’ Stephen Curry
(30) holds up the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy and the MVP trophy
with his parents Sonya and Dell following their 103-90 win over the
Boston Celtics in Game 6 to win the NBA Finals at TD Garden in Boston,
Mass., on Thursday, June 16, 2022. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
By ALEX SIMON | asimon@bayareanewsgroup.com | Bay Area News Group
PUBLISHED: June 17, 2022 at 1:45 p.m. | UPDATED: June 18, 2022 at 5:16 a.m.
https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2022/06/17/did-the-warriors-fourth-title-and-steph-currys-finals-mvp-silence-doubters-well-not-all-of-them/

One day after the Golden State Warriors won their fourth NBA title in
eight years and Steph Curry was named NBA Finals MVP, you would think
all of the talking heads in the media who had cast doubts on Golden
State would have to change their tune.

But a look at the different morning sports debate shows highlighted
that, to some, Curry still wasn’t good enough for whatever lofty and
shifting standards they have.

On his Undisputed show on Fox Sports 1, Skip Bayless didn’t even want to
give Curry credit for his Game 6 performance, where he led all scorers
with 34 points and added seven rebounds and seven assists.

“I’ll say Steph was good last night,” Bayless said. “I won’t even go to
very good.”

--
“I’ll say Steph was ‘good’ last night. I won’t even go to ‘very good.’”
@RealSkipBayless on Steph Curry’s performance in Finals-clinching Game
6: pic.twitter.com/VUtMYMkHFv
— UNDISPUTED (@undisputed) June 17, 2022
--

Bayless also said Curry is “a great front runner” — something he had to
make sure people knew was a compliment. But he firmly believes that
Curry does not “have a clutch gene.”

“When he gets you down, he will shoot you right out of the gym. If he
smells blood, he will pour it on,” Bayless said. “But it’s not 50-50
blood, it’s when you’re front-running. It’s when you’re stepping on
throats.”

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Bayless also ranked his top 10 NBA players of all time and did not
include Curry in there, something his fellow Fox Sports colleague Nick
Wright also agreed with. He has Curry 12th on his list and argued
heavily against him being ranked above some other all-time legends, like
Hakeem Olajuwon, Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell or Shaquille O’Neal.

But at least Wright can recognize that Curry is, in fact, in the
conversation of all-time greats, and this Finals performance was
transcendent for the man who wears No. 30.

“I do think this removes any possible, ‘Yeah, but’-s from Steph’s
resume,” Wright said on First Things First on Friday. “Steph already had
a unique, unicorn resume – greatest shooter ever, greatest small guy
ever … and one of the most selfless teammates ever, as he demonstrated
by inviting Durant to his city … to win titles.”

--
"This removes any possible 'yeah, but' from Steph's resume. Steph had
his greatest Finals ever. He knew he needed this performance and he
delivered it — and that is how you become one of the pantheon all-time
greatest players ever."
— @getnickwright pic.twitter.com/Xa8ZwYMoe6
— First Things First (@FTFonFS1) June 17, 2022
--

But this? Wright — who, it should be noted, recently was a guest on “The
Lightyears Podcast” with Sam Esfandiari and Andy Liu and praised Curry
effusively — believes this was Curry’s “greatest Finals ever” and has
left no doubt on his resume.

“He knew he needed this performance, and he delivered it,” Wright said.
“And that is how you become one of the pantheon, all-time greatest
players ever. He already was in that room, now no one can ever kick him
out of it.”

That tone shift from Wright was happening over on ESPN, too. Kendrick
Perkins had been casting doubt on Curry and the Warriors for years now,
including making a hand gesture last August to indicate he thought the
Warriors would win zero titles during Curry’s four-year extension. Curry
remembered the gesture and mimicked it after last night’s title win.

--
Stephen Curry hears everything pic.twitter.com/dYv2U2HvnQ
— Sam Hustis (@SamHustis) June 17, 2022
--

Perkins, a former Celtic, was effusive in his praise for the Warriors on
First Take on Friday morning, saying the Warriors have built a
foundation that is potentially unparalleled.

“When you talk about building from the ground up, when you talk about
Draymond Green being a second-round pick, when you talk about
plug-and-replace — going from Harrison Barnes to Kevin Durant to Andrew
Wiggins … that goes to show you about the culture,” Perkins said.

“The culture of the Golden State Warriors is one of the greatest
cultures I’ve ever seen in my lifetime, in my NBA lifetime. I think they
have one of the greatest cultures in NBA history.”

A championship identity? 🏆 @KendrickPerkins thinks so.

--
"When you talk about having one of the greatest cultures of all time,
the Golden State Warriors have that." pic.twitter.com/sZe48YXA17
— First Take (@FirstTake) June 17, 2022
--

Perkins often debates on First Take with Stephen A. Smith, who has been
one of the biggest believers in the Warriors among the national media.
Even back earlier in the playoffs, Smith thought the Warriors would win
“multiple” titles going forward.

Smith’s been saying he believes in the Warriors all season long, and a
title is only validating his feeling on this team — both in the present
and in the future, as he predicts Golden State will go back-to-back.

“This time next year, Steph Curry will surpass LeBron James and he will
have five ‘chips. He will tie Kobe Bryant. He will pass Shaquille
O’Neal,” Smith said. “I’ll tell you why: Steph ain’t gonna fade. The
brother’s in shape. I don’t know how he does it — I’ve got to find out
about his diet, I really need to find that out, because the brother’s
doing some things out there. He has more energy than brothers 10 years
younger than him.”

--
"I got the Warriors repeating! They are winning the NBA championship
AGAIN next year!"@StephenASmith is making his claims for 2023 EARLY.
pic.twitter.com/fbhCy1QF5X
— First Take (@FirstTake) June 17, 2022
--

But perhaps nothing Smith said hits harder on today, the day after Curry
won his first Finals MVP trophy, than what he said back on May 6 about
Curry’s legacy.

“He can win a Finals MVP and there are still gonna be people that have
questions about his legacy,” Smith said on First Take on May 6.

After what his former First Take co-host Bayless had to say about Curry
on Friday, it’s that statement — and not the title declaration — that
feels the most prophetic from Smith.