Monta Ellis Claiming He Would Win 4 Titles in Place Of Stephen Curry Angers Fans – “LeBron Would Have 7 Rings”

Monta Ellis played alongside Stephen Curry on the Golden State Warriors for three straight seasons before departing via trade.

Monta Ellis Claiming He Would Win 4 Titles in Place Of Stephen Curry Angers Fans – “LeBron Would Have 7 Rings”

Stephen Curry and Monta Ellis (Image via NBC Sports Bay Area)

Before Stephen Curry became the Golden State Warriors’ franchise cornerstone, they had another point guard in Monta Ellis who grew from a bench-warming role to become their leading superstar.

In his first season, he averaged a mere 6.8 points per game, playing a smidge over 18 minutes per contest. That was decent enough for most second-round picks, as they are not expected to contribute much.

But in his second season, former head coach Don Nelson returned to the franchise, and that changed Ellis’ career trajectory. His scoring more than doubled, and the young star was tasked with leading a veteran team that thrived on being dawgs on the court.

Winning a Most Improved Player award in 2007 and producing career-high numbers left the Mississippi native alum believing he was the team’s future. Now, it seems he is still holding on to that thought despite leaving the game nearly nine years ago.

If you switched me and Steph out with the team that won the championships, it’d be the same thing.

Monta Ellis told ESPN

The 40-year-old reiterated to the network’s college basketball writer, Myron Metcalf, that the Warriors with him leading the line were setting the stage for the success Stephen Curry and his teammates eventually achieved.

Therefore, had he remained as their lead contributor and the franchise given him a proper team to play with, Ellis believes he could have replicated what his former teammate has accomplished.

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Fans tear into Monta Ellis for undermining Stephen Curry

This interview came out a couple of days ago and would not have caught the attention of NBA fans since the article would appear in the college basketball category on ESPN’s website.

But someone probably read it and realized Monta Ellis was basically dissing Stephen Curry by suggesting that he would have had the same success. As soon as this reached social media, fans tore into the 6’3″ star for both undermining his former teammate and suggesting he was equally great. Check out examples of those reactions below.

In Monta Ellis’ defense, the 2006-07 Warriors did end up defeating then-league MVP Dirk Nowitzki and championship favorites, the Dallas Mavericks, in the first round of the playoffs. It is also true that had the Warriors continued to build the team around him, they could have had more success.

However, fans pointed out that the reason the franchise decided to draft Stephen Curry, another point guard, in the first round was enough of an indication that they knew Ellis had reached his peak. They believe there is a reason why the latter never had a similar run in the league, while Curry became the greatest shooter in the history of the NBA.

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Monta Ellis to become college program GM despite not playing college basketball

Monta Ellis is not like one of those former players who create a podcast to talk about their experiences playing in the NBA and commenting on the current game. Rather, the only reason he said this about Stephen Curry is because of this ESPN interview. In fact, this one-on-one session had nothing to do with Curry, the NBA, or the Warriors.

Monta Ellis becomes Alcorn State's GM
Monta Ellis becomes Alcorn State’s GM (Image via Bleacher Report/X)

Former NBA standout Monta Ellis, who played in the league for more than a decade without playing college basketball, will serve as general manager at Alcorn State this season, the school announced Friday.

Myron Metcalf revealed

This means that even though he has no experience playing college basketball, the Alcorn State Braves thought he had enough knowledge and experience playing at the highest level to become their next General Manager.

The program plays against some tough competition in the Southwestern Athletic Conference. The 13-year veteran might have some ideas about how to help them get back to their early 2000s glory days.

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