The First Take host has a bold take on the Steph Curry vs. LeBron James MVP debate

FIRST TAKE star Chris “Mad Dog” Russo has said “no way” that Steph Curry has been better than LeBron James over the past decade.

Curry, 34, and James, 38, have dominated the NBA since the early 2010s, sharing eight of the last 11 championships.

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James won the NBA title in 2012 and 2013 with the Miami Heat, 2016 with the Cleveland Cavaliers and 2020 with the Los Angeles Lakers.

Curry won the Larry O’Brien Trophy with the Golden State Warriors in 2015, 2017, 2018 and 2022.

And both have won the MVP award twice during that tenure — although the Lakers All-Star also received the honor in his last two seasons before joining the Heat in 2010.

But even though they have comparable resumes, it was James – not Curry – who was in the GOAT conversation with many nodding at him to Michael Jordan.

Meanwhile, the Warriors star made a huge impact on the game of basketball, starting the 3-Point Revolution as part of the Golden State dynasty.

And he’s beaten James in three of the four NBA Finals they’ve met.

ESPN pundit and former NBA player Jay Williams used these arguments to make the case for Curry as the league’s best player of the past decade on Thursday.

But Russo firmly disagreed.

“There’s no way Curry has been better than LeBron in the last 10 years,” he said.

Russo pointed out that while Curry has three NBA Finals triumphs over James, he has twice been with Kevin Durant by his side — which wasn’t a “fair fight.”

And that one time James faced the Warriors with a healthy Kyrie Irving on the field, he inspired his Cavaliers to come back from a 3-1 deficit and win the 2016 Finals in seven games.

Also, Mad Dog emphasized the Lakers forward’s versatility at both ends of the stage.

James is about to add another achievement to his extensive resume that will give him an edge over Curry.

The Lakers forward will soon break Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s elusive record and become the all-time leading scorer.

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