Steph Curry should be in the MVP conversation

Stephen Curry, the two-time MVP, has had another elite season, but has flown under the radar. Where is he in the MVP conversation this year?

The 2017 MVP should either be James Harden or Russell Westbrook. I do not mean to suggest that anyone outside of those two should win the award. This is simply for what happens below those two on the ballot.

Ultimately, the guy who finishes third or fourth or fifth in MVP voting doesn’t matter. Who cares, right? I mean, how many runners-up can you name let alone guys who got even less votes?

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Well, the NBA is driven by narratives. And sometimes our revisionist history fails us or our interpretation of what’s actually happening is incorrect. And we need to do our best to fix that.

A lot of basketball fans would probably say Stephen Curry struggled this season. He didn’t. He had a shooting slump earlier in the year, but he’s destroyed the league over the last month.

He was going to take a step back after last year’s incredible season. It would have been nearly impossible to replicate the kind of success he saw during the 2015-16 campaign. That was out of the question.

Curry never had a real shot at the MVP award this year. He conceded to Kevin Durant early on, focusing on getting his new teammate comfortable. Even if he didn’t, voters weren’t going to select someone from such a stacked team. And, even if they overlooked that, there was probably going to be some Steph Curry fatigue after he won the last two in a row.

For most of the season, there have been four names in the MVP conversation. Harden and Westbrook are the top two. LeBron James and Kawhi Leonard are the next two right behind them. Guys like Isaiah Thomas, John Wall, and Durant were mentioned, but their claims to the Maurice Podoloff trophy were never seriously considered.

Curry has not been in the conversation. It’s irresponsible for him not to be. In fact, he should be third on the list.

James had a fantastic season. He had one of the best of his career. What he is doing at this juncture of his career is one of the most impressive things any of the game’s greats have ever done. There probably isn’t a player in league history who can say he was the best player in the Association in his fourteenth season.

The Cleveland Cavaliers’ star should not get a pass for losing control of his team in the second half of the season. Yes, the Cavs dealt with energy. But when it’s universally accepted that you and your team do not care for most of 82 games, you should be disqualified from the conversation. The MVP award should not work that way.

Now, that leaves Kawhi Leonard. The reigning Defensive Player of the Year has really emerged as one of the game’s best. He’s added a solid offensive game to go with his elite defensive prowess.

But Curry’s offensive output was better. They averaged pretty much the same amount of points while the Warriors’ superstar had a higher true shooting percentage. Curry, understandably, had more assists while Leonard grabbed a little more than one more rebound per game. The two-time MVP also totaled more steals than the defensive superstar.

Part of Leonard’s case over the other three candidates is that he has a better record. The San Antonio Spurs finished with the second-best record in the league. The only team in front of them? Steph Curry’s Golden State Warriors.

The top team should not always have the MVP, but if Leonard’s case is based on winning then Curry’s is stronger. Paired with his superior offensive numbers and his lead-leaguing plus-minus, then he should be higher up. Of course, there’s the argument that Leonard’s defense is far better than Curry’s, but great offense is more important and more impactful.

Once again, the award should go to either Harden or Westbrook. But Curry definitely placed himself in the conversation, especially with the work he did when Durant was out. MVP’s are players that rise to the occasion and Curry outplayed Westbrook, Harden, and Leonard on their home floors.

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Curry has been fantastic in leading his team to 67 wins. He set the record for most three-pointers in a single game and had the second greatest three-point shooting season in league history. He’s, statistically, the most impactful player in the NBA.

Steph Curry should be third in the MVP race. Which, considering this is a “down year,” that isn’t bad at all.