Golden State Warriors at Orlando Magic, Orlando, Florida, USA Orlando, Florida, USA, November 18, 2025, Golden State Warriors player Stephen Curry 30 at the Kia Center. Copyright: xMartyxJean-Louisx
Golden State Warriors at Orlando Magic, Orlando, Florida, USA Orlando, Florida, USA, November 18, 2025, Golden State Warriors player Stephen Curry 30 at the Kia Center. Copyright: xMartyxJean-Louisx
Sometimes the most significant “what-if” in sports can come from the man who lived the experience firsthand, and former Golden State Warriors player Monta Ellis has decided to make his point of view known publicly.
Monta Ellis, who is now the General Manager for Alcorn State, made the claim about his trade from the Golden State Warriors back in 2012 during an interview with Myron Medcalf from ESPN.
"That's what I dealt with. And people know that. 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. So you've got to take the good with the bad, and that's cool," Monta Ellis said.
OKLAHOMA CITY, OK - NOVEMBER 20: Indiana Pacers Guard Monta Ellis (11) waiting on the free throw versus Oklahoma City Thunder on November 20, 2016, at the Chesapeake Energy Arena Oklahoma City, OK. (Photo by Torrey Purvey/Icon Sportswire) NBA Basketball Herren USA NOV 20 Pacers at Thunder PUBLICATIONxINxGERxSUIxAUTxHUNxRUSxSWExNORxONLY Icon1512130101074 Oklahoma City Ok November 20 Indiana Pacers Guard Monta Ellis 11 Waiting ON The Free Throw versus Oklahoma City Thunder ON November 20 2016 AT The Chesapeake Energy Arena Oklahoma City Ok Photo by Torrey purvey Icon Sports Wire NBA Basketball men USA Nov 20 Pacers AT Thunder PUBLICATIONxINxGERxSUIxAUTxHUNxRUSxSWExNORxONLY
OKLAHOMA CITY, OK - NOVEMBER 20: Indiana Pacers Guard Monta Ellis (11) waiting on the free throw versus Oklahoma City Thunder on November 20, 2016, at the Chesapeake Energy Arena Oklahoma City, OK. (Photo by Torrey Purvey/Icon Sportswire) NBA Basketball Herren USA NOV 20 Pacers at Thunder PUBLICATIONxINxGERxSUIxAUTxHUNxRUSxSWExNORxONLY Icon1512130101074 Oklahoma City Ok November 20 Indiana Pacers Guard Monta Ellis 11 Waiting ON The Free Throw versus Oklahoma City Thunder ON November 20 2016 AT The Chesapeake Energy Arena Oklahoma City Ok Photo by Torrey purvey Icon Sports Wire NBA Basketball men USA Nov 20 Pacers AT Thunder PUBLICATIONxINxGERxSUIxAUTxHUNxRUSxSWExNORxONLY
Ellis was a teammate of Curry during his early years with the Warriors from 2009 until the team traded him to the Milwaukee Bucks in 2012 in exchange for Andrew Bogut, which marked a complete change in the direction of the franchise moving forward.
This statement is far from what came afterwards as Curry won four rings with the Warriors in the years ranging from 2015 to 2022 while Ellis struggled in his career and got released by the Indiana Pacers at the age of 31 in 2017.
The four championship runs of Stephen Curry each have their own unique narrative, which holds a lot of significance in response to Ellis’s argument of roster context alone.
Stephen Curry Four Championship Runs With Golden State
Stephen Curry was part of his first championship team in 2015 when Golden State had an excellent season with 67 wins and won their first title in 40 years by beating the Cleveland Cavaliers in the finals.
The following year, Golden State signed Kevin Durant after having 73 wins and losing in the NBA Finals of 2016; the signing brought two successive titles for the Golden State Warriors in 2017 and 2018, with Kevin Durant winning Finals MVP each time.
Curry won another championship ring in 2022 despite the injuries that saw Golden State become the worst team in the league and brought the Warriors back to the top of the pile.
Curry averaged 31.2 points in the finals against the Boston team, which earned him his first-ever unanimous Finals MVP award.
This feat is completely opposite to what we saw from Ellis after he left the Warriors, thus providing some truth to the assertion that everything would've played out the same way.
Read more at Air Jordan Chronicles!
Written by
Utsav Gupta
Edited by
Utsav Gupta