Did CJ McCollum take a shot at Stephen Curry?

Stephen Curry’s defensive abilities have been questioned a lot throughout his career. Did Portland’s CJ McCollum throw shade at him on Twitter?

The Golden State Warriors and the Portland Trailblazers faced off against each other in the second round of the 2016 Playoffs. The series featured two of the league’s most explosive backcourts. It was supposed to be the Warriors’ established championship duo of Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson going head-to-head with the Blazers’ rising stars in Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum.

Except Curry sustained a knee injury in the opening round against the Houston Rockets. His MCL sprain kept him out of action until Game 4 against Portland when he made his triumphant return to the court. He just happened to set a record in that game for most points scored in an overtime period.

There’s a narrative that surrounds Curry that he’s a poor defender though many defensive metrics over the last few years would suggest otherwise. This has picked up steam since Thompson oftentimes takes the better offensive player on the opposing backcourt. Sometimes he just can’t match up with the size of certain bigger offensive players, especially after a defensive switch. And, in the NBA Finals, Curry was attacked because his knee severely limited his mobility and ability to guard the shifty Kyrie Irving and dominant LeBron James.

Since the Warriors’ historic collapse in the Finals and Curry’s underwhelming performance in Game 7, many have come after the two-time MVP. For some, his play over the course of 48 minutes erased everything that he’s done over his career. He’s become the butt of a lot of jokes and the focus of criticism.

The latest to get his jabs in may have been Portland’s McCollum.

At first look, this seems like a definite shot at Curry especially as McCollum had a front row seat to watch his backcourt score 50 against the Warriors (though only 30 with Curry on the floor). But it probably isn’t all that. It’s not about Curry at all.

In fairness though, McCollum did do this in the playoffs.

But if Twitter user Michael Liriano had swapped out “Stephen Curry” with LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Kawhi Leonard, Gary Payton, Michael Jordan, or Bugs Bunny from Space Jam, McCollum’s response would have been the same. It wasn’t about singling out Curry’s defensive abilities, it was about highlighting his own offense.

No NBA player should feel like anyone can stop them. Whether they’re a two-time MVP or a Most Improved Player or a D-League call-up, every single one feels like they’re the best player on the court. That’s what McCollum was highlighting.

But when a fan asked him who the best player in the game was, he responded with James and not the reigning MVP. Though this is understandable due to the Cavs’ superstar’s historic performance in the NBA Finals. McCollum, during his Twitter Q&A, said that Curry is the greatest shooter ever.

This wasn’t a shot at Curry. But expect a lot of them from now until next summer.