Stephen A. Smith Refutes Kevin Garnett With LeBron James-Steph Curry Declaration

Leading Team USA to a gold medal in the Paris Olympics further cemented the status of Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James and Golden State Warriors star Steph Curry as among the NBA's elite.

Even though many talented young guys are slowly staking their claim, they still have to go through LeBron and Curry. The sustained success of the two MVPs, especially at their age, is hard to duplicate.

For ESPN host Stephen A. Smith , LeBron and Curry could play in any era. He refuted the recent remarks of former NBA MVP Kevin Garnett that no player of this generation could succeed in the 1990s because of the league's physicality.

“You can't tell me that a LeBron at 6-foot-9, 260 (pounds) couldn't deal with the physicality of the old days because he would've been hurting people," Smith said on his self-titled show. "Because that's how powerful and that's how strong he is.

"Steph Curry could've played in the old days because you just don't teach shooting ability like that."

Smith admitted that he got "pissed off" with Garnett's comments but also tried to understand where he was coming from.

While KG, who won a title with the Boston Celtics in 2008, didn't exactly mention LeBron and Steph, he name-dropped Anthony Edwards and Jayson Tatum .

Smith, for his part, rattled off a list of modern stars who would excel in the 1990s, including the late Kobe Bryant, Vince Carter, Klay Thompson, Russell Westbrook, James Harden, Kevin Durant and Nikola Jokic.

"If Bill Laimbeer could be in the NBA (in the 1990s), Jokic could be in the NBA," stressed Smith.

Last season, LeBron had per-game averages of 25.7 points, 7.3 rebounds and 8.3 assists, while Curry tallied 26.4 points, 4.5 rebounds and 5.1 assists.

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