Whether you agree with them or not, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown proved to be the best star duo in basketball this season by leading the Boston Celtics to the franchise's 18th NBA championship.
Times have changed since then, but there was once another dynamic Bay Area duo that led the league: Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and the Warriors, who appeared in five straight NBA Finals and won four championships during their dynastic run.
Despite Golden State's success on the court, former NBA guard Evan Turner, speaking with former Warriors forward and NBA champion Andre Iguodala on the “Point Forward” podcast, explained why Curry and Thompson failed to capitalize on that success at the time and why their failure to do so opened up opportunities for other young stars.
“The best are still to come,” Turner said. “There are 16-year-olds coming out of the gym doing crazy stuff. Look at Jason and Jalen, I don't know if there are any better players out there right now. They won a championship and are ranked 10th, so why not put out an R&B album? They'll be rich if they win.”
“Imagine what it would be like if Klay and Steph weren't so dopey. They were choking the world. Those little guys were on fire. Dangerous.”
Curry is a 10-time NBA All-Star, two-time scoring champion, two-time NBA MVP and Finals MVP, while his Splash Brother is a five-time NBA All-Star and two-time All-NBA Third Team selection.
Their impressive three-point shooting changed the game of basketball, but Turner believes they should have taken advantage of the marketing opportunities off the court.
Iguodala claimed the same could be said about Tatum being labeled “lame,” but clarified that while he doesn't think the Celtics forward is lame, it's just a league-wide perception. Turner then walked back his statement, emphasizing that Curry and the Warriors could have done a better job of seizing this moment in their historic dynasty.
“I won't call Steph and them. [are] “It's a cliche thing to say. I'm just saying that there were two guys in beige at a time when they were tipping their hat to marketing and how athletes were presented,” Turner said. “They should have taken over the world. Steph Curry's shoes should be Jordans. That's all I'm saying.”
Iguodala said he wouldn't necessarily put that on Curry, but Turner made one last marketing point.
“From a marketing standpoint,” Turner continued, “you guys are hands down one of the best teams of all time. The best team of all time! And you had the best shooter of all time. The worst thing that happened to them was they fired Mark Jackson because they ran out of marketing pitch.”
While it's unlikely that Curry or Thompson will be releasing an R&B album anytime soon, the duo has found plenty of success and happiness outside of basketball.
And if becoming a four-time NBA champion was the new cliché, we'd all be signing up for it.
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