WarriorGM wrote:All right so I hear there is an MVP for Olympics Basketball that was dormant but that the media revived. Predictably it goes to LeBron James. Unfortunately by predictably I don't mean that it was because he was the clearcut choice from the actual performances but more in the sense that ahead of time you know that certain movies that fit the Oscar bait mold will likely win the Oscar whatever the merits of the other movies nominated.
Look I get the argument for LeBron's selection and because I do I understand it can come off as petty to criticize it. My initial inclination therefore after rolling my eyes is to quietly move on.
But then I remember something.
This isn't an isolated incident.
Far from it. It is part of what appears to be a consistent pattern.
And the one who is being targeted and disadvantaged is Steph Curry.
I recognized Curry as a special player around 2016. Even after the loss in the finals I projected that he could be a top 5 player all-time. To me it was obvious that the signs were there. That's why I've been mystified ever since that there have been so many expressions of doubt or what I perceived to be low assessments of Steph's impact.
Why is it taking people so long to recognize just how incredible Steph Curry is?
I cannot help but escape the feeling that part of the reason is that the media has been manipulating and perverting opinions about him. Whenever he falls short, they are quick to write him off. Whenever he succeeds, they damn him with faint praise treating him like a precocious child who won a high school science project. And whenever a comparison is to be made they make the most underwhelming one they can get away with.
Case I
The Iguodala FMVP
Probably the most prominent early incident was the 2015 FMVP selection. There was an earlier notable media snub when Curry wasn't selected for an All-NBA team in 2013 but that was perhaps understandable with Curry just emerging as a force on the biggest stage but by the 2015 Finals Curry had just led his team to 67 wins and was named MVP.
Still when his team won, the FMVP was given to Iguodala. Curry looked lackluster and stymied for a lot of the series and a narrative built up that a change in the starting lineup suggested by a video guy to wide-eyed newbie coach Steve Kerr was the key to victory. The feel good story of a democratic team combined with Iguodala being the one guarding LeBron was enough to override the gaping scoring difference between Steph and Andre and the fact Steph exploding in the 4th quarters of the critical games is what sealed the championship win in 6 games. The media was clearly wed to the idea that LeBron was the reason for everything and reasoned that stopping him was all that mattered. Iguodala it is. Steph Curry? Good player but his success this year was probably a blip and he'll fade away and become just another passing season rival for LeBron like Paul George. Oh how wrong they were. But the end result in this case was still Curry's reputation being sacrificed to uphold the narrative that LeBron was unfairly overmatched by a great team effort.
Case II
The Durant FMVPs
After the thrilling but ultimately disappointing 2016 Durant comes to town. Media automatically starts treating KD like he's the best player on the team. Despite Curry having already led his team to a championship. Despite Curry having already led his team to two historic seasons. Despite Curry being the one and only unanimous MVP in NBA history. Despite Curry and the Warriors facing KD and the Thunder the previous year and emerging victorious. For some reason KD's the guy. I like KD. I think he's great. But the way the media was completely ignoring Curry was absolutely bizarre.
KD and the Warriors click. KD and Curry are brilliant together. When it's time to acknowledge them, however, the media instead of acting like journalists when they sold the Iguodala FMVP as a nod to the democratic nature of the team chooses to act like a drama instigator by awarding two FMVPs to KD despite lots and lots of room to take in the big picture that the lopsided finals victories provided. So instead of the story being two great players teaming up to dominate the league, the media story is KD takes over and is the best player. End result is Curry's now being portrayed as some secondary support player in a KD show. Meanwhile LeBron is still sitting pretty because the previous unfairly overmatched narrative is actually reasonable and with the media spotlight on KD the player with the actual best argument against LeBron's supremacy is being obscured.
Case III
MVPs 2017-2022
Curry in 2017 leads what is arguably the greatest NBA team of all-time to a 67-win record. Curry is 6th in MVP voting. What? Okay there are some understandable factors chiefly KD on the same team. But KD missed something like 14 games. Doesn't matter. As long as Curry and KD are together they're pretty much ruled out from MVP consideration. Mind you playing with Wade didn't stop LeBron from becoming MVP in 2012 or 2013 or being top 3 in MVP voting in their inaugural year.
I'll also make a quick note regarding Giannis' and Jokic's two MVPs each during this time. I've heard it argued based mainly on their MVPs that they are close to Steph in terms of career achievements. Sorry but they are still both faaar away. Even Jokic with his three MVPs doesn't yet come close to defining an era the way Steph has impacted his prime years. Steph in 2021 and 2022 presented two contrasting arguments for MVP, Jokic presented the same one. Steph did not get a benefit of the doubt that someone like Magic did.
End result is that even though Steph probably would have clearly overtaken LeBron for most people, media hid that behind Giannis and Jokic talk.
Case IV
The Obvious Debate
There are media talk shows that seem to do nothing but debate basketball. This forum is geared to debating nothing but basketball. So why is it that everyone avoids the most obvious comparison of the last decade in basketball? Namely LeBron vs. Steph.
Part of the reason I think some people are so resistant to accepting Steph as a top 10 player all-time is because it makes the comparison unavoidable. But with Steph entrenching himself ever more firmly in the public imagination as not just the greatest shooter of all-time but a top 10 greatest player of all-time it becomes ever more absurd the way the topic is avoided.
Media is clearly part of the reason this debate really hasn't come to pass. They've kept comparing LeBron to Jordan while comparing Curry to Lillard for as long as they could. How ridiculous is that? It's like comparing LeBron to DeMar DeRozan. But media has popularized such a comparison.
From the above one can see that there has been a pattern of gaslighting people into thinking less of Curry. Now I'm sure there are those who would object. They may accuse me of just being a crazy Curry fan. If only the implications were limited to Curry fandom. But think on it a little more and the implications might start getting wild. If media is gaslighting people about this, what else might they be gaslighting people about?—but that might be too scary to think about.
Okay I’m not reading all of that..
Curry is called the greatest shooter of all time, is universally loved and respected, is the face of under armor,
I’m really lost who a victim of what is here.
Somewhere trying not to offend Texas Chuck.
