If Stephen Curry needed any extra motivation, he has some, courtesy of Charlotte Hornets owner Michael Jordan.
“He’s still a great player,” Jordan told NBC’s “Today” on Monday after saying that the Golden State Warriors star wouldn’t be included on his dream five-man pick-up team “Not a Hall of Famer yet, though. He’s not.”
Jordan said he’d stick with Hakeem Olajuwon, Scottie Pippen, Magic Johnson and James Worthy as his teammates on his fantasy starting five.
Curry has quite the resume after 10 NBA seasons. He is a two-time league MVP — including the first unanimous selection — and has won three NBA championships with the Warriors. In addition, Curry is a six-time All-Star selection, has won a scoring title, twice led the league in steals and is a three-time first-team All-NBA selection as well as an All-Rookie team pick.
His 23.5 points per game during his career ranks 25th all-time, and he ranks third all-time with 2,483 3-pointers after leading the league in that category for five consecutive seasons from 2012-2017.
Jordan, who won six NBA titles, five MVP awards, six Finals MVP awards and was a 14-time All-Star, was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2009.
Johnson, the Hall of Famer and former Los Angeles Lakers executive, tweeted out his thoughts on Jordan’s statement.
Everyone relax. We know Steph Curry is a future Hall of Famer…Michael Jordan couldn’t say it because he would get fined by the league.
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) October 22, 2019
While with the Lakers, Johnson was fined $50,000 by the NBA in 2018 for violating the league’s anti-tampering rule for saying young star Giannis Antetokounmpo would someday lead the Milwaukee Bucks to a championship