“What DWade did for LeBron, and what Steph Curry did for KD, not a whole lot of people can do that” - Shannon Sharpe believes Steph Curry deserves huge credit for giving up the keys to the kingdom
Golden State Warriors point guard Steph Curry deserves credit for sharing the limelight with forward Kevin Durant, according to "Undisputed" co-host Shannon Sharpe.
Instead of keeping the "keys to the kingdom" to himself, Curry opened the doors for Durant in order to secure a better chance at victory. This is something that not many players are capable of, asserted Shannon Sharpe. He also stated that Dwayne Wade did something similar for LeBron James.
Steph Curry deserves credit for "giving up the keys to the kingdom"
Shannon Sharpe explained:
“I give Steph huge credit. He and D.Wade are the only two guys I know that gave up the keys to their kingdom so another king could sit on top. What D. Wade did for LeBron, and what Steph Curry did for KD, not a whole lot of people can do that now.”
Curry welcomed Kevin Durant when he joined Golden State in 2016, and the squad went on to win back-to-back championships in 2017 and 2018. When Durant joined, the league erupted with chirps of a super team like nothing before, and they delivered.
Arguably, the three best shooters in the league (Klay Thompson, Steph Curry, and Kevin Durant) at the time were on the same squad. After Curry lost to James and Kyrie Irving in 2016, he made sure he would never have to go through a similar situation again.
Sharpe spoke on the Warriors trio of Thompson, Curry, and Green:
“This is the core … They’re on the cusp of winning more finals games than anybody, any other trio in NBA history, and that’s the nucleus of it … They want to say, ‘Bro, we was the Warriors before KD, and we showed you we’re the Warriors without KD.”
As Thompson, Curry, and Green share the floor for yet another NBA championship series, they look to secure the notion that their squad is, in fact, the core. If Steph Curry is able to gain another championship, it would give him two NBA Finals wins without Kevin Durant. The victory would, in fact, prove that the trio is the specialty of Golden State.
Of course, that is known to most, but the footprint that Kevin Durant left in Golden State is rather large. Steph Curry will have to secure this year's championship if he hopes to quiet the talks against the victories seen in Golden State for his time shared with KD.
Not that anybody can take away from the greatness seen across their years shared together, but Curry winning this year's finals would show the world that he is the primary star in Golden State and always has been.
Shannon spoke on Dwayne Wade letting LeBron James come into Miami and take the crown. It was inevitable, even by that time, that, no matter where James ended up, the spotlight would be on him.
But for Wade, much like Curry, the only light they cared about was the one at the end of the tunnel — the championship.
Dwayne swallowed his pride and allowed LeBron James to come into his squad and bring them the victories that he did. Regardless of who attempts to discredit Wade for doing what he did for wins, it was the right choice. And most would argue James needed Wade just as much as Wade needed James.
The situation was much the same for Steph and the Warriors. Though they had a little more firepower than Wade’s Miami squad, Curry knew that, if he was going to beat James, he would need someone that could handle him while he cooked.
That someone was Kevin Durant, and even without KD now, it looks like Curry has figured out his own ways to deal with the greats of the league today. Warriors’ players like Andrew Wiggins and Jordan Poole have been a great support this year. Klay Thompson’s return and Draymond Green’s leadership abilities have also been important assets.
The Golden State Warriors have always been in good hands as Curry maintains a high leadership IQ.