Neither Lebron James Nor Steph Curry Are "Underdogs"

You know I mean business because I hit you with the “Neither…nor”

There’s something brewing on the internet at the moment. Something bizarre. It appears that people want to label Steph Curry an underdog, and then in response people are trying to say that Lebron, not Curry, is in fact the underdog. To be perfectly honest, this might be one of those situations where there’s outrage in response to some sort of outrage, when that original outrage never existed in the first place. Like 1 person sends a tweet and thats enough to start a full fledged internet movement where tons of people are screaming at each other while agreeing. People arguing with the wall. I’m not really sure. If you browse through your timeline it seems that a lot of people are arguing why they arent underdogs. So maybe I’m just adding to the madness here, but at the same time I feel like these storylines and rhetorics have to start somewhere. So just in case there really are people out there arguing Steph Curry and Lebron are underdogs – lets just be really clear – they are not.

I understand that Steph Curry was doubted by some fans and experts coming out of college. He was skinny and went to a weird college. That makes a lot of people go “I’m not sure about this kid.” I did. A lot of you did it. We were wrong. That does not make Steph Curry some sort of rags to riches Horatio Alger story. The kid is a son of a fucking former NBA player. He grew up with millions. Was probably practicing his jumper on a regulation indoor basketball court when we were at the playground or the Y. He was drafted 7th overall. 7th! Yes, I suppose Steph Curry was disrespected by a whopping SIX teams. Well technically five teams, since the TWolves drafted two point guards over Steph in that draft which I guess was at least a little disrespectful. Then again, it’s the TWolves. But lets not act like Steph was the first player to be drafted in the incorrect slot. Its not like he was some 2nd round pick or an undrafted foreigner the Spurs uncovered. If you think that plus a rude meeting with Nike execs is gonna make me treat Steph Curry with some sort of overachiever reverence, you’re crazy.

You could make the argument that Lebron James is the real underdog with his upbringing. Dude was HOMELESS. No father, no home, no guaranteed meal on the table at night. He used to miss school as a kid because he was too poor to get there. If Lebron ended up dead or in jail I don’t think anyone would be surprised. Instead he’s a BILLION DOLLAR athlete. But that doesn’t change the fact that he was blessed with a freakish body and perfect skills, busted his ass for the last 25 years, and now is the best on earth at what he does. You don’t get to be called an underdog when you’re the best on earth at something. That’s just not how it goes.

Tom Brady was a 6th round pick. Nobody plays the underdog card with him. Mike Piazza was drafted in the 62nd round, he’s just regarded as the greatest hitting catcher ever. When you reach the top, and sustain that greatness for years, the came from nothing, everyone doubted me, chip on your shoulder storylines disappear. Both of these guys are way too good to have anybody giving them sympathy and undo praise. There’s already plenty of real reasons, currently, to do that.