Carmelo Anthony backs Stephen Curry in GOAT debate

NBA legend Carmelo Anthony he strongly believes in it Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry should be in the greatest conversation of all time and he was surprised that someone would leave him out.

Last month, Anthony appeared on an episode of The Big Podcast with Shaq, where he gave my two cents at the GOAT interview.

“If you get the GOATS right? How are you going to sit there and tell me that Steph (Curry) is not in that conversation? … He has every legitimate argument.”

What do you think of Carmelo Anthony’s attitude? 🤔

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“If you get the GOATS right? How are you going to sit there and tell me that Steph (Curry) is not in that conversation? … He has every legitimate argument,” Anthony said.

Anthony reignited the GOAT debate with Shaquille O’Neal, pointing to Stephen Curry’s clear place in the conversation. O’Neill agreed, repeating comments he had made a few months earlier.

He agreed with Anthony, noting that he had been criticized for saying the same thing a few months earlier.

Anthony suggested that Curry probably ranks behind only Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant, ahead of LeBron James. O’Neill agreed, noting that he has faced criticism for making similar claims.

“In Steph’s eyes, right, think about what Steph is probably thinking. I don’t know, but he’s probably sitting there going, ‘I’m Mike, I’m Kobe, and then there’s me.’ right? He’s not going to put Bronn above him,” added Anthony. “But he has every legitimate argument.”

Curry, 37, has four championships (2015, 2017, 2018, 2022), two MVPs, a Finals MVP and a game-changing three-point shot. In 2025-26, he averaged 28.1 points and 3.8 rebounds, 4.9 assists and 42.2% from three, tying Jordan for most 40-point games after 30 years.

In March 2025 Curry became the first NBA player to hit 4,000 career 3-pointers. O’Neal praised the milestone and said Curry deserves to be mentioned in the GOAT conversation, pointing to the way he plays the game.

“You know how he plays the game. How he plays the game. I mentioned on our show that you should at least bring his name into the conversation of the greatest player ever.”

“He’s definitely changed the game. Because of him … every team shoots 3-pointers,” O’Neal said. “They want to blame it on analytics, but it’s because everybody wanted to beat the Golden State Warriors and that guy.

The GOAT debate is far from over as Curry and James enter the final stages of their storied careers. It remains to be seen if either of them can win a fifth NBA championship. That being said, whichever star wins a fifth title would definitely get a big edge in the debate.