Evan Turner takes odd dig at ‘corny’ Steph, Klay as NBA duo

Whether you agree or not, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown proved to be the best star duo in basketball this season after leading the Boston Celtics to the franchise’s 18th NBA championship.

While times have changed since, there once was another dynamic duo running the league in the Bay when Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and the Warriors made five consecutive NBA Finals appearances and won four titles through their dynastic run together.

Despite Golden State’s success on the court, former NBA guard Evan Turner explained to former Warriors forward and NBA champion Andre Iguodala on their “Point Forward” podcast why he believes Curry and Thompson failed to capitalize on that success at the time, and why their failure to do so presented other young stars with those opportunities.

“The best of the best is still coming,” Turner said. “These kids are 16 and jumping out the gym, doing all this crazy stuff. If you look at Jayson and Jaylen, it’s like s–t, you going to find me another two better than that right now? And since they won a championship and they’re on 10, they might as well do an R&B album! They’re going to be rich as hell, winning.

“Like imagine if Klay and Steph weren’t corny as f–k, bro. They had the world in a chokehold. Them little dudes were on fire. It’s dangerous.”

Curry is a 10-time NBA All-Star, two-time scoring champ, two-time NBA MVP and Finals MVP. His fellow Splash Bro has made five NBA All-Star appearances and been named to the All-NBA Third Team twice.

Their lights-out 3-point shooting changed the game of basketball, but Turner believes they should have taken advantage of the marketing opportunities away from the hardwood.

Iguodala argued the same could be said about Tatum regarding the “corny” label, although he clarified he doesn’t believe the Celtics forward is corny but that’s just the league-wide perception. Turner then retracted his words and emphasized that Curry and the Warriors could have better seized the moment during a historic dynasty.

“I’m not calling Steph and them [are] corny, I’m just saying during the time where the hats were off about marketing and how an athlete could be represented, you had two beige dudes,” Turner said. “They should’ve had the world. Steph Curry shoes should be Jordans, dog. That’s all I’m saying.”

Iguodala said he wouldn’t necessarily put that on Curry, Turner made one final marketing point.

“From a marketing standpoint,” Turner continued. “Y’all were by far one of the best teams ever. The best team ever! And you had the best shooters ever. The worst thing that ever happened to them was they fired Mark Jackson because there goes the marketing pitch.”

While it’d be safe to say that Curry and Thompson likely won’t be coming out with an R&B album anytime soon, the two have found plenty of success and happiness away from basketball.

And if being a four-time NBA champion is the new corny, sign us all up.

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