Monta Ellis spent 12 seasons in the NBA doing what he did best: getting buckets. Despite standing only 6'3", the "Mississippi Bullet" was an impressive big-time scorer who once averaged 25.5 points per game for the Golden State Warriors during the 2009-10 season. Although he had his best years in the Bay Area, Monta was still a solid offensive option during his time with the Dallas Mavericks and the Indiana Pacers .
Long retired from the NBA, Ellis recently made headlines by claiming that had he and the Warriors megastar Stephen Curry switched places, and he had stayed in Golden State, the result would still have been the same: four NBA championships and plenty of unforgettable hoop moments.
However, former NBA All-Star Joe Johnson and former NFL great-turned-popular broadcaster Shannon Sharpe vehemently disagreed with Ellis' opinion, saying that to believe it is to blatantly downplay what Curry has done in the league and how he has changed the game.
Although Ellis was beloved in Golden State for his fearless approach to scoring, his departure in March 2012 helped pave the way for Curry to truly take off. In addition, the arrival of tough, defensive big man Andrew Bogut also gave the Warriors the defensive presence they sorely needed to offset Steph's defensive shortcomings.
However, Ellis proclaimed that had he stayed and Curry been traded, the Warriors would still have become the dynasty they morphed into.
"Real people that know basketball and all that, they know that. They know the team that I was dealt with. If you switched me and Steph out with the team that won the championships, it'd be the same thing," Ellis boldly said .
Sharpe, though, didn't buy into the narrative that Ellis was pushing, explaining that it was Curry's unique talent and otherworldly shooting that made the Warriors unstoppable.
"You're downplaying his greatness and how great he was in those championship runs. Bro, he was virtually unstoppable," Unc asserted .
"If this man was a top 75 player, maybe I was like, 'Okay, well, maybe.' But how you going to replace a guy, a top 75 guy? By all estimation, he's the first or second greatest point guard. I don't really look at him as a point guard, but I'm saying it's he or Magic Johnson that's in the conversation."
Sharpe argued that one thing Ellis failed to consider was that he needed the ball in his hands to be effective; he was an isolation-heavy player who dominated possessions. On the other hand, as lethal as Curry was with the ball in his hands, he was even harder to stop when he began navigating screens, as defenses shifted with his every step, wary of giving him a sliver of space, in turn giving his teammates wide-open looks at the basket.
"If you look at the success that Steph had and KD had when they played together, neither one of those guys needed the ball," Sharpe noted. "It is okay for you not to be Steph Curry, 'cause guess what? No one else is either."
Ellis was a heck of a player who used his potent scoring ability to carve out a solid career. But to speculate that the Warriors would have won four titles with him on the roster instead of Curry? That's just downright ludicrous.
This story was originally published by Basketball Network on Aug 11, 2026, where it first appeared in the Latest News section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
