Why Stephen A Smith believes Stephen Curry should have won Olympics MVP over LeBron James

LeBron James was named the Most Valuable Player in the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. However, ESPN analyst Stephen A Smith disagreed with the honor, claiming Team USA point guard Stephen Curry should have the award instead of LeBron James, given Curry’s heroics in the pivotal semifinal and gold medal games against Serbia and France.

“Steph Curry was spectacular. And you saw LeBron, you saw KD, and you saw everybody deferring to Steph Curry because when you get hot like that, you who to give the damn ball to,” Stephen A Smith said.

“I thought Steph Curry deserved the MVP because of that. Not because LeBron [James] wasn’t great, because he was. But when you steal pivotal moments like that to secure gold in two thrillers, Serbia & then France, you deserve the MVP. I thought Steph should have got it.”

When evaluating a team’s most valuable player, it’s sometimes difficult to gauge which of the two is most deserving, the player who was most consistent throughout a particular tournament or the player who delivered in clutch moments the most when the team’s life was on the line. Curry’s play in the 2024 Olympics is undoubtedly best described as the latter of the two.

However, from a scoring standpoint, the gap in production between him and LeBron James is razor-thin. Still, does that give the edge to Curry, who saved Team USA’s life in one game before securing gold in the following match?

Steph Curry snubbed for the Olympics’ MVP over LeBron James?

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Curry’s shooting display in Team USA’s 98-87 win against France was incredible. Sealing the fate of France, the host country of the 2024 Olympics, with four consecutive threes en route to 24 points, including 8-of-13 from deep, he propelled Team USA to its fourth consecutive gold medal.