Kendrick Perkins proclaims Stephen Curry could enter the GOAT conversation soon: “He’s one championship and one Finals MVP away”
Golden State Warriors superstar Stephen Curry delivered a vintage performance in the 4th quarter of Game 7 of the Golden State Warriors’ first-round playoff series against the Houston Rockets.
Faced with a win-or-go-home situation, Curry scored 14 of his 22 points in the final stint, going 5-6 from the field and leading the Dubs to an impressive 103-89 win over the Rockets. With the victory, the Warriors will advance to the second round, where they will play the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Although it’s still too early in the postseason, many are already discussing a fifth championship for Steph and the Warriors. With that possibility, ESPN’s Kendrick Perkins made a bold statement on “First Take” about the two-time MVP’s legacy.
“Steph Curry is one championship and one Finals MVP away from entering the GOAT conversation. Real talk. He’s one championship and one Finals MVP away from entering the GOAT conversation. And I would dare somebody to try and argue and make me seem like I’m saying something ridiculous,” Perk emphatically proclaimed.
Five would give Steph one more than LeBron
The Warriors have been the most dominant NBA team since 2015, while Curry, fellow Warrior Draymond Green and ex-teammate Klay Thompson join LeBron James as the winningest current players with four championships each.
Although Steph currently has the same number of championships as Bron, not many give him credit because two of those were won when Kevin Durant played in Golden State. But after proving in 2022 that he could win a chip after Durant left, Curry now has the opportunity to show that he can also win without his Splash Brother Klay, hence cementing himself as the ‘man’ on a title team.
A fifth title would put him on par with Kobe Bryant and Tim Duncan and move him ahead of LeBron. And since LeBron and Kobe are widely considered Michael Jordan’s closest rivals in the GOAT debate, passing them should automatically put Steph in that discussion.
“What he has done for the game, he has changed the game forever. He’s given life for all the guys that are under 6’3″, not just because of his shooting ability, but because of what he brings to the table, night in and night out, on a day-to-day basis as a true professional and now he’s getting it done on both ends of the floor,” added Big Perk.
Before the start of the playoffs, former Boston Celtics captain and Hall of Famer Paul Pierce also talked about Curry leveling up in the GOAT discussions if the Warriors win the chip this year. According to Pierce, a fifth ring for Steph will mean that he beats LeBron in his own era, hence putting himself in rarified air.
“So now if he has five of them, he wins the LeBron era,” said Pierce on the “All The Smoke” podcast. “In the LeBron era, he took five rings. And in the LeBron era, I got a unanimous [MVP] boy. What does that mean? If you are who you say you are and I get the unanimous in your era and win more championships, do I win the era? And am I better than you now? So now we’re going to have some tough discussions.”
“Chef” has several items in his resume that make him GOAT-worthy. He was the first unanimous league MVP in 2016 and holds a lot of the league’s three-point records. Despite those, he is often left out of the conversation. Winning a fifth ring, however, could very well change the narrative.