Stephen A. Smith surprisingly snubs Steph Curry & Kobe Bryant on his top 5 all-time NBA list
Stephen A. Smith made his picks regarding the top five players of all time in the NBA but left off two of the greatest players in league history. More specifically, the ESPN analyst didn't pick Golden State Warriors megastar Stephen Curry as well as NBA and Lakers legend, the late Kobe Bryant.
Stephen A. Smith's Top-5 includes four Hall of Famers and one future Hall of Famer. Smith went with NBA legends Michael Jordan (six-time champion and Finals MVP), LeBron James (four-time champion, four-time Finals MVP and four-time regular-season MVP), Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (six-time champion, six-time regular-season MVP, two-time Finals MVP), Magic Johnson (five-time champion, three-time Finals MVP and three-time regular-season MVP) and the late Bill Russell (11-time champion, five-time regular-season MVP).
For their part, Steph Curry is a four-time champion, two-time regular-season MVP and the 2022 Finals MVP, while Kobe Bryant (who died in a helicopter crash in January 2020) retired as a five-time champion, two-time Finals MVP and the 2008 regular-season MVP.
Stephen A. Smith picks his top 5 players for the 2023-24 NBA season
The 2023-24 NBA season kicked off a couple of weeks ago and so far, the Boston Celtics (5-1), Philadelphia 76ers (5-1), reigning champions Denver Nuggets (6-1) and Dallas Mavericks (6-2) have emerged as the top teams in the Eastern and Western Conference, respectively.
Prior to the start of the season, Stephen A. Smith made his picks concerning the best players of the year, and his choices didn't come as a surprise.
Stephen A. Smith went with reigning champion and Finals MVP Nikola Jokic, who is averaging 28.4 ppg, 12.9 rpg and 8.4 apg so far, on 63.3 percent from the field and 38.7 percent from three. He also went with two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, who has averages of 26.0 ppg, 9.0 rpg and 3.2 apg, on 54.8 percent from the field and 29.4 from beyond the arc.
He also picked Curry, who is averaging 30.9 ppg, 4.8 rpg and 4.3 apg, on 53.0 percent from the field and 47.5 percent from three. Stephen A. Smith chose reigning NBA MVP Joel Embiid as one of the top players in the league. Embiid is averaging 32.5 ppg, 11.0 rpg and 6.2 apg, on 53.5 percent from the field and 42.9 percent from beyond the arc.
Last but not least, Smith picked NBA all-time scoring leader LeBron James, who has averages of 25.3 ppg, 8.4 rpg and 5.9 apg, on 56.1 percent from the field and 32.5 percent from beyond the arc.