In all fairness, the T-34 was unreliable, not as quick as on paper, and had subpar optics and situational awareness until the T-34-85.
The problem is western propagandists keep looking at the tank as it exists in a vacuum, and not how it fits in Soviet doctrine, where the ease of mass production coupled with it having above average armour, decent mobility, and a good HE shell made it excellent within that context.
It was such a successful design it directly inspired the modern MBT through the T-44 and T-54/55, because while it was unexceptional in any particular role, it could do all of them good enough