"This has no bias in it": Gilbert Arenas on why LeBron James was voted Olympics MVP over Steph Curry
Former NBA player Gilbert Arenas joined the ongoing heated debate over whether LeBron James or Steph Curry deserved the Olympic MVP award. The 39-year-old LeBron was voted as the MVP after Team USA won its 17th gold medal at the quadrennial competition by defeating France 98-87 in the final.
Many fans, former players, and pundits questioned whether LeBron truly deserved the award over Steph, who delivered spectacular performances in the two most crucial games of the competition.
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Arenas voiced his support for LeBron and cited the four-time NBA champion's consistent performance throughout the tournament as the major reason behind the MVP award.
"This wasn't an American committee who voted," the 42-year-old said on Gil's Arena" show.
"So this has no bias on it. You're trying to take a 2-minute moment and pretend that it happened the whole Olympic games," he added.
Before the semifinal and final, LeBron appeared as the undisputed MVP of Team USA. The narrative changed after Steph exploded with a game-winning 36-point performance against Serbia in the semifinal and a 24-point game against France in the final.
The Golden State Warriors superstar made nine 3-pointers in the semifinal and eight 3-pointers in the final, including the dagger over two defenders.
Stephon Marbury on LeBron James' MVP award
Former NBA player Stephon Marbury was one of the first to ignite the debate by questioning LeBron James' Olympics MVP award. The player-turned-coach asserted that the 20-time NBA All-Star didn't deserve the accolade and was only named MVP because of his stature.
"They gave the MVP to the wrong player," Marbury wrote on Instagram.
"Maybe they called out the wrong name by accident ... In international ball, if you can’t shoot, you can’t have the ball at the end of the game.
"I get LeBron is the King to many, but let me say this: when you give him what he doesn’t deserve, you basically say that because of what he’s done, he should receive such a high honor on the biggest stage. No, he didn’t earn it this time," he added.
LeBron led Team USA in minutes, rebounds, assists and field goal percentage. The four-time NBA MVP was second in scoring as Steph led the team in points.
In terms of their overall performance, LeBron averaged 14.2 points, 6.8 rebounds, 8.5 assists and 1.3 steals per game in the Olympics. Steph averaged 14.8 points, 3.2 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 0.7 steals per game.
The Lakers superstar shot 66% from the field, including 33.3% from the 3-point range. The Warriors superstar shot 49.2% from the floor, including 46.8% from beyond the arc.