ABC analyst Mark Jackson is taking heat from fans, players and media in the wake of comments during Friday’s telecast that reigning MVP Stephen Curry has “hurt the game” because of his shooting prowess. Jackson, who coached the Warriors before being replaced by Steve Kerr prior to last year’s championship season, theorizes that young players are too focused on trying to shoot like Curry rather than developing their all-around talents.
This is the complete quote from Jackson, as reported by Marissa Payne of The Washington Post: “Steph Curry’s great. Steph Curry’s the MVP. He’s a champion. Understand what I’m saying when I say this. To a degree, he’s hurt the game. And what I mean by that is I go into these high school gyms, I watch these kids and the first thing they do is run to the 3-point line. You are not Steph Curry. Work on the other aspects of the game.”
Jackson’s broadcast partner, Jeff Van Gundy, also a former NBA coach, came to Curry’s defense, saying, “Those shots that he takes, if some high school joker takes them, and it’s allowed by their coach, shame on them.” Sam Moses, an AAU coach in the Oakland area, tells Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports that Curry is a “perfect role model,” adding, “If a kid comes in and says they want to be like Steph, they talk about ball-handling more than his 3-ball. He gets to the basket more than he shoots 3-pointers. You would think kids just want to work on the long ball, but they’re working on their dribbling.”
After Friday’s game, Curry expressed confusion about the comments from his former coach. “I have to talk to him,” Curry said. “I don’t know what he means by that. If you can shoot, shoot. If you can’t, stop.”
This brings me to the topic for today: Does Curry’s remarkable shooting actually “hurt the game” because of its influence on young players? And are there other current or former players you can say the same thing about?
For decades, youths on playgrounds or in high school gyms have been dreaming about dunking like Michael Jordan, passing like “Magic” Johnson, blocking shots like Hakeem Olajuwon, rebounding like Moses Malone or handling the ball like Pete Maravich. When youngsters see their favorite players with an exceptional skill, it’s natural for them to try and copy it. Does that limit their overall development? Does Jackson have a legitimate point, or is he is speaking out of bitterness over how his tenure in Golden State ended?
Take to the comments section below to share your thoughts and opinions on the matter. We look forward to what you have to say.
Ugh, this is so simple yet people are overreacting.
He’s saying that kids are not working on the fundamentas but they all wanna shoot from long range now when you’re more likely to miss a 3pt than getting 2 easy points off a pick and roll, a called play, a good pass, etc. Reason why he started his opinion with “To a degree…”
He did use the wrong words to express what he meant.
Nothing wrong with what he said. Kids I see it all the time don’t work on finishing lay ups or defense or the small things that count. They just want to dribble and shoot threes all day long
Lil kids and hs players have been hoisting up 3’s long before Curry became MVP. His shooting has a bigger impact on adults who have played, moreso than the kids. The youngsters just wanna dribble 2 balls like him.
Gotta agree. I’ve been a youth coach close to thirty years. On draft day, we set up a little skills drill: dribble through cones, go get a rebound, a couple of passes and shoot two layups, a ten footer, a free throw, and a three pointer. The kids will miss the layups, the mid range and the free throw all because they are in a rush to get to that stinking three pointer.
My first practice, at the end I ask if there are any questions. Hands will fly up and the question is always “We can shoot three pointers, right?” Everyone gets all pouty when I tell them at the end of every practice we will shoot five layups and five free throws and only the people who make 4/5 layups and 3/5 free throws are allowed to shoot three’s in the game. Invariablly, one of the kids will break the rule and chuck up a three point heave that goes in by pure luck and I will call timeout and remove them for the rest of the game and suspend them for the next. The look of astonishment of their faces that I did exactly what I told them I would do is beyond priceless. “But, But, Coach. I made the shot!!”
Parents are just as bad; I had a mother go up one side of me and down the other because her little eight year old super star was a three point shooting expert. I watched him shoot; it was a three point heave that started from his shoe tops and darn near tore his guts out from the force of it. When I explained to the mom that this was horrible technique, she withdrew her son and said she was going to take him to a real basketball league.
Thank you coach!! If kids are heaving up three pointers instead of concentrating on fundamentals at that young of an age then that’s on their coach! Glad the kids have a coach like you that will make them better players overall instead of one dimensional. They apparently don’t see that Steph’s game has many facets, not just 3 point shots!