As Team USA left Paris, the group was in high spirits. Why not, after defeating Victor Wembanyama and Team France in the Olympic gold medal game? Having taken everyone’s best shot heading into the final round of the men’s tournament, it was now time for the Olympians to rest on their laurels. At least for a little while.
Yet, while they posed for photos featuring the reward for their hard work, basketball fans gathered on the digital concourse to question one player’s award.
Why Nobody Is Wrong In Olympic MVP Debate
Upon winning his third Olympic gold medal, Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James was named the 2024 Olympic MVP. As it’s an award that isn’t always handed out after Olympics, this was an incredibly rare feat. In fact, only three players have ever won the award.
James, the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, is no stranger to making history. However, he may feel out of place being criticized for winning an MVP award at this stage of his career. While he still faces a steady stream of backlash, James has become a media darling. In fact, he’s all but a universal fan favorite. The King not quite as beloved as NBA icon Michael Jordan is, but he’s entered His Airness’s stratosphere.
None of that seems to matter much right now though. To many, Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry is the rightful owner of his newest piece of hardware. James’s longtime detractors —Stephen A. Smith and Skip Bayless —believe it. Outspoken former NBA players like Kendrick Perkins and Stephon Marbury have said as much. For their evidence, they all point to Curry’s flamethrower performances against Serbia and France.
sdsfdf pic.twitter.com/dGN44BKebW
— Vito Corleonie (@VCorleonie) August 14, 2024
From that perspective, who could argue? Curry was a lights-out shooter in both games, scoring 60 total points. Frankly, Team USA might not have won gold if he hadn’t caught fire. Yet, James was their leader; the de facto captain. He was their most consistent and versatile player. Without him, Team USA might not have made it through the Group Phase.
Co-MVPs?
Statistically, the argument leans towards James.
Curry averaged 14.8 points per game in the Paris Olympics to James’s 14.2 points per game. The two-time NBA MVP’s shooting splits (.500-.478-.1000) were stellar. However, James posted 8.5 assists per game to Curry’s 2.5 assists per game. He averaged nearly twice as many steals per game (1.3) as Curry (0.7). He crashed the glass, averaging 6.8 rebounds per game. For comparison, Curry pulled down 3.2 rebounds per game.
Both made plays that saved their team. Both made plays that inspired their team. Yet, of the two, James is the only one who never disappeared for a whole game. To that point, Curry had three games with fewer than 10 points in the Paris Olympics. James didn’t have any. Curry had three games with fewer than three assists. Again, James didn’t have any.
Given their respective impacts, perhaps James and Curry being named co-MVPs would’ve been best. Nonetheless, it’s ridiculous to suggest that James isn’t deserving of the award.
But Then Again…
If voting for the Olympic MVP award opened up before the gold medal game, as ESPN’s Brian Windhorst suggests, it may have affected who ultimately won.
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— CyrusTheVirus (@CyrusTheVirusP) August 15, 2024
With that being said, the fact that they were already voting for James to win an award that they’d only handed out twice before speaks volumes about his play up to that point.
