Well, this is awkward.
Mark Jackson brought the Golden State Warriors to the cusp of greatness in the 2013-2014 season, when they made the playoffs and came darn close to advancing past the first round of the playoffs, eventually losing to the Clippers in 7 games. By then, everyone knew how good Stephen Curry was and could be, but the organization didn’t feel Jackson was the man that would take them over the edge. He was fired following the Warriors’ playoff exit, and replaced by first-time head coach Steve Kerr.
Needless to say, since then, the Warriors have won an NBA Championship and broken the NBA record for wins to start a season. Since then, Stephen Curry has also gone from overlooked young point guard, to reigning regular season MVP and arguably the game’s best player. Still, Mark Jackson doesn’t think it’s all roses where Curry’s concerned. During last night’s gritty victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers in a Christmas Day Finals rematch, Jackson had this to say about the Warriors star.
He’s hurting the game. And what I mean by that is that I go into these high school gyms, I watch these kids, and the first thing they do is they run to the 3-point line. You are not Steph Curry. Work on the other aspects of the game.
On surface level, Jackson’s point seems valid, but it’s important to remember that kids go through several levels of coaching and learning before they reach the semi-pro or pro level, at which point they should have been sufficiently taught that offense is not about shooting, especially when you’re not a once-in-a-generation shooter like Stephen Curry. His prolific output should not be an indictment against him.
Curry’s response to Jackson was simple: “I don’t know what he means by that. If you can shoot, shoot. If you can’t, stop.”
