"Michael Jordan, the best, period... I want to apologize to basketball lovers everywhere" - Stephen A. Smith makes a controversial call by replacing yesteryear great with Steph Curry on his top 10 list

ESPN analyst Stephen A. Smith made a controversial statement on "First Take" when he decided to vault Steph Curry into the all-time top 10.

If the Golden State Warriors win the NBA Finals, Curry will earn his fourth ring and possibly his first Finals MVP award. There has been a lot of chatter over the last few days regarding his place in history. Many have suggested Curry is one of the 10 greatest players of all time, including Smith.

Now the question is who will get bumped out of the top 10 if Curry makes it on? Many believe Curry's career has been better than Oscar Robertson and Julius Erving, so either of the two can be bumped. However, Smith suggested a name that shocked everyone in the room: Wilt Chamberlain. He said:

"I want to apologize to historians everywhere. I want to apologize to basketball lovers everywhere, because I openly admit that what I'm about to say is blasphemous. I'm gonna say it anyway. … I would take off Wilt Chamberlain.

"The man that averaged 50 a game in a season, the man (that averaged) 30 rebounds in a season. The man they changed the rules for, is widely considered the most dominant force in the history of the NBA ... That guy, Wilt Chamberlain."

Smith acknowledged that the Big Dipper was arguably the most dominant force in NBA history, and that his records and statistics are next to unbreakable. However, he believes the disparity in championships in comparison to his rival Bill Russell should be a factor, a point no one can make against Curry.

Smith emphasised Chamberlain's record against Russell in the NBA Finals and mentioned how nobody remembers him as a winner in his era. He said:

"Do you know what I hold against Wilt Chamberlain? … Wilt Chamberlain's got two rings in the era that Bill Russell won 11. … In your era, there's a dude that stood way above the crowd compared to you. Eleven championships to 2. The two Finals appearances (against Russell), you lost both. One in five (games), one in seven.

"You got a career 4-8 record against Bill Russell in the Finals. When we look at Wilt, we looked at the individual. But the guy that we considered "Mr Champion" was someone else, who played in Wilt Chamberlain's era. It's not about individual ability alone. It's about that, too."

Stephen A. Smith explains why Steph Curry deserves to be in the all-time top 10 over Wilt Chamberlain

Steph Curry of the Golden State Warriors in Game 5 of the 2022 NBA Finals

Stephen A. Smith is convinced that Steph Curry should be ahead of Chamberlain on the all-time top 10. When asked on "First Take" if a fourth title would make Curry one of the 10 greatest players ever, Smith added:

"I believe it would. … Steph Curry is the greatest shooter we have ever seen. He's transcended the sport, and he's transformed the sport of basketball. Some would lament it, some would applaud it, but Steph Curry being the phenomenal shooter that he is, he's already established himself as the greatest shooter ever.

"We take that into account along with five straight trips to the NBA Finals, three titles, a (possible) fourth title. Six appearances in eight years. If he wins a fourth title and he wins the MVP, I think that puts him in rarefied air."

Smith also brought up Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and LeBron James to suggest that they have dominated their eras while Wilt Chamberlain has not. He said:

"Kareem is Kareem, but we know the six rings, how he spanned decades, what he did, the sky hook, the all-time scoring leader, all of this other stuff. … Magic Johnson: five-time champion, the greatest natural quintessential point guard we've ever seen in the history of the game of basketball. Michael Jordan: the best, period. LeBron James: on the Mount Rushmore. The era. The LeBron era. We got all of that."

Curry and the Golden State Warriors will play Game 6 on Thursday in Boston. They have a chance to close out the series to earn their fourth championship ring in six finals.