Shohei Ohtani won his third consecutive MLB MVP award last week. It was also his second straight NL MVP and his fourth in the last five years—all unanimous. Coming on the heels of another stellar postseason run for the Dodgers that ended in another World Series win and Ohtani’s greatness is impossible to ignore even if the baseball season is over. It’s an overwhelming level of excellence that left even LeBron James in awe—and reminds him of a longtime NBA rival on the court.
On Tuesday James released another episode of his Mind The Game podcast with Steve Nash. It was the second half of a lengthy interview the two conducted with the one and only Steph Curry. At one point James brought up the absurd versatility of Ohtani and how ridiculous it is that one player can strike out numerous batters in a championship series game while hitting home runs at the same time. It inspired James to then explain how Curry is similar to Ohtani in that dangerous versatility and listed all the ways the Warriors superstar can destroy his opponent, just like Ohtani.
“What makes Steph one of the most dangerous players of all time is the fact that you’re going to get it in so many different ways,” James said. “I’ma come down in semi-transition, if your pickup point is too low, bang. If I come off a high screen pick-and-roll and your big is not up to touch, bang. If you cover me well, I’ma get off the ball and I don’t care getting off the ball... It makes him the greatest shooter of all time and one of the greatest threats in NBA history.”
It’s hard to draw a true comparison for Ohtani in the NBA because every player plays both ways in basketball. But James puts forth an admirable case for Curry. He is truly unlike any player we’ve ever seen in the NBA and is entirely capable of single-handedly burying a team under the avalanche of his greatness—just like Ohtani. James was once capable of this, so he knows what he’s talking about when he describes it above.
To fully complete the parallel Curry must now win another unanimous MVP and play a significant role in bringing his team another championship come playoff time. Entering Tuesday Golden State is 9-6 and has shown the capability to play great basketball, but have struggled to do so consistently through the early part of the year. For Curry’s part he missed a few games due to an illness but is still averaging 27.4 points per game and leading the NBA in three-point makes per contest.
The full Ohtani is not out of reach, then. But it is far from a guarantee. It will be fun to see how James’s comparison holds up as the season marches on.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as LeBron James Breaks Down Similarities Between Steph Curry, Shohei Ohtani.
