Jeff Jarrett says Bret Hart has a lot in common with Golden State Warriors star Steph Curry.
Jeff Jarrett recently spoke with Brandon Robinson for Bally Sports and was asked who he’d call the “Steph Curry” of wrestling. Jarrett, a noted basketball fan himself, said he’d pick Bret Hart and explained how their careers paralleled each other in the early days.
“Bret Hart is a guy that you really wouldn’t say that you saw Bret Hart in 1985-1987, and even in 1998 and 1989 when he won the IC [Intercontinental] Title you wouldn’t say, ‘Oh. He’s going to be a really big player in the late ‘90s.’ And Bret was, off of hard work. And Steph became a great shooter, yes. Bret was born into a wrestling family and Steph was born into a [basketball] family. So everything that goes with that, but both men learned their trade, learned their craft and really worked hard, and when you look at a Bret Hart Madison Square Garden match against ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin, the significance of really like, ‘Ok. There’s the Attitude Era.’ When Steve and Bret did their match – you talk about some iconic moments in our industry and that was that match in MSG. So you put me on the spot, but I think that I came up with a pretty good reply.”
Jarrett then spoke about how Curry, who is now the NBA’s all-time three-point shot leader, developed into a premier player and has made the game change and made the league adapt to focus on his style of play.
“Let’s get down to business — Steph set the record [for most three-point shots made in a career]! He’s a point guard. He’s not 6’8”, he’s not a LeBron James type specimen, he’s not this uber-ultra competitor like Kobe [Bryant] or Michael [Jordan]; when you really think about Steph the athlete – and I don’t want to say ‘the human being’… I mean, his dad could shoot so he comes from a pedigree, but when you look at him physically and the warm-up drills he does,” Jarrett explained, “but to see him and go over and hug Ray Allen, that’s really in my opinion, sort of the essence of sports, the dude did it.
“I mean, he’s revolutionized the game and firing them off, and again, I’m definitely biased because I love basketball. But to see him rain threes from – I mean, it wasn’t that long ago that if a guy took a shot in his range and literally the coach would literally look up in the air in the gym and would say, ‘Who is this guy? Get him out!’ He’s on mood or mind altering substances! He’s firing it at half court! But, Steph makes it part of the game. It’s a really cool moment. You can tell that I’m STILL fired up about that! [laughs]
Read More: Bret Hart On Never Injuring An Opponent: ‘I Take A Lot Of Pride In Knowing I Was So Safe’
