Even nearly a decade after Steph’s lowest moment, Skip can’t seem to let go of the past.
Being off the air hasn’t stopped renowned opinionist Skip Bayless from sounding off. Throughout his lengthy career debating and discussing all things sports, the talking head has demonstrated that he’ll unapologetically stand by his views regardless of the challenger.
One of the players he has been resolute about is —y es, LeBron James is one — but also Steph Curry, whom Skip often reinforces that he would’ve picked No. 1 overall in the 2009 NBA Draft, perhaps to disqualify the notion that he is a “hater.” However, despite this contention, the NBA’s greatest shooter has often been on the other end of Bayless’ approval.
On a recent episode of his podcast, the talking head read a question submitted by a fan who asked if winning a gold medal changes his views on the Golden State Warriors guard. Skip was, well, very much Skip in his retort.
“Top 10? I think not,” Bayless said after recollecting Steph’s 2016 NBA Finals performance. “[In] 2017, KD [Kevin Durant] was the MVP of the finals. [In] 2018, KD [was] once again [the] MVP of the finals. [In] 2019, KD was mostly hurt, and then Klay [Thompson] got hurt; it was all about Steph.
“Remember what happened in [the] closeout Game [6] at Oracle [Arena]? Steph had a wide-open look to win the game to force a Game 7 back in Toronto — and he missed it.”
Whenever revisiting this topic, Skip cringes before recounting the many ways — he believes — Steph came up short in postseason games. His biggest gripe against ranking the guard in the top 10 all-time stems from Golden State surrendering a 3-1 lead to the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016, giving LeBron his third NBA championship — and getting him that much closer to Michael Jordan.
Perhaps had Steph prevented James’s third ring, Skip would’ve conceded No. 30’s rank among the tier 1 greats of the game. But then again, we can only chalk it up to his bitterness of watching LBJ march to a historic title.
The rightful Olympic MVP?
The segment wasn’t entirely anti-Steph. As much as Bayless has ridiculed the future Hall of Famer for not living up to his unanimous MVP status in the postseason, he relinquishes Curry as the player who should have been named the Olympic MVP over James.
“Tell me I’m wrong,” Skip said. “Even you LeBron defenders, apologists, blind witnesses… you know in your heart of hearts Steph deserved [to win] that [Olympic] MVP. … It wasn’t always easy; it wasn’t always pretty, but [Team USA won gold] thanks to Steph.”
No. 4’s performance was so good that it nearly moved his proudest naysayers to applaud his greatness. Never mind the 17-of-26 from 3-point range in the final two Olympic games; the off-balance shots defied logic and all traditional wisdom. Each shot, the previous even more mind-numbing than the last, pulsated Bercy Arena into oblivion.
Although Steph has had plenty more impactful moments in terms of his NBA legacy, his initial—and perhaps final—moment on the international stage neatly encapsulated his greatness: 3-pointers and global attraction.
