The Golden State Warriors’ Stephen Curry will win his third MVP award this year. Here are five reasons why.
The Golden State Warriors are playing for championships. Most individual awards take a back seat to the chance to hoist the Larry O’Brien trophy in June. Still, Stephen Curry could be in line for a pretty big one.
Curry is on pace to retire with one of the most illustrious careers of any player. He just won his second championship. He has two MVPs and the title of “greatest shooter of all-time.”
Curry welcomed Kevin Durant onto his team. It was clear that after winning two consecutive Most Valuable Player awards he wasn’t going to win a third. It just wouldn’t be possible as he sacrificed his role to let Durant get comfortable.
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The point guard ended up finishing sixth in MVP votes last year, largely because of his efforts when Durant went down with an injury. He really turned it up a notch in the playoffs. He had an incredible NBA Finals series though Durant, understandably, won Finals MVP.
Though the numbers, eye test, and accolades support Curry’s case for being a top-three player in the world, there are many that overlook him. They don’t give him the credit that he deserves. There are those that, hilariously, use Russell Westbrook’s one MVP award to try to discredit a two-time winner.
What does Curry need to earn more respect? Winning a third MVP award wouldn’t hurt. And there’s a chance that he will do it.
Though there are great talents throughout the entire Association, here are five reasons why Steph Curry will win the league’s Most Valuable Player award.
He’s already in midseason form
Stephen Curry got off to a slow start in the 2016-17 season. He ended the season by dominating anybody that dared get in his way. He had to work his way up to that, though.
Curry was good, but he wasn’t who he was in the 2015-16 campaign when he was named the league’s first unanimous MVP. His lowest point came in December where he averaged just 20.9 points per game on 42.7 percent shooting from the field and 37.5 percent from three-point range. His poor Christmas Day performance in Cleveland was a wake-up call.
It took him some time to get going. Curry really got going when Durant injured his knee in February. He was forced to step up and return to the previous year’s form.
Curry has picked up where he left off after Game 5 of the NBA Finals. He’s been locked in during the preseason. There’s no reason to think that won’t carry over into the regular season.
The last two preseason games, his effort has increased and the production shows that. In the second game against the Minnesota Timberwolves, he scored 40 points on 13-30 shooting from the field and 6-9 shooting from deep in 31 minutes. He also grabbed six rebounds and dished out eight assists. In their last game, he played 19 minutes and scored 18 points.
Curry is doing everything exceptionally well. What’s most impressive is the way he’s taking care of the ball. In four games, he has 14 assists and just five turnovers.
Steph Curry is ready for the season to start.
He already knows how to play with KD
Like I said in the last slide, Stephen Curry got off to a slow start last season. He had the worst shooting slump of his career at one point. Before putting on a display that earned him MVP votes, he was very up-and-down.
His struggles weren’t all just not being able to put the ball in the basket. Part of it, especially early on, was learning how to adjust to a new role. That was a direct result of having Kevin Durant on the team.
Welcoming a guy as good as Durant isn’t necessarily easy. Assembling top-tier talent works great on paper, but, in real life, the players need to establish chemistry. Players need to learn how to play together.
Curry took a backseat to Durant early on. In order to make his new teammate comfortable, he deferred. He sacrificed his own rhythm for the sake of Durant and the team.
The two MVPs had some growing pains, but they learned how to play together at the most important time of the year. They were completely in sync during the postseason. Their high-level play dominated the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA Finals.
Curry doesn’t need to do that anymore. He knows how to find a balance between being assertive and letting his teammate take control. Curry is ready to take what he did in the playoffs and turn that into a full year of MVP play.
Other MVP candidates have smaller chances
Last year’s MVP race came down to two candidates: James Harden and Russell Westbrook. The Oklahoma City Thunder star eventually outlasted the Houston Rocket after averaging a triple-double for the year. That won’t happen again.
In fact, Curry might be in the best position to win the award simply because of new obstacles presented to all of the other candidates. Many have new star teammates that will result in growing pains and a reduced role. Something, that–as I noted in the previous slide–Curry is already used to.
Harden now has Chris Paul. Westbrook has Paul George and Carmelo Anthony. LeBron James, who takes annual vacations in the middle of the season and finished fourth in MVP voting last season, now has Isaiah Thomas, who finished fifth in MVP voting, on his team.
Kawhi Leonard’s chances might slip if the San Antonio Spurs fall down the Western Conference standings. Giannis Antetokounmpo and most of the Eastern Conference candidates probably won’t win enough games. That leaves the two Warriors: Curry and Durant.
It’s possible they steal votes from each other and even cancel each other out in the minds of voters. Still, with diminished chances from some of the league’s biggest stars, it’s hard to argue that Curry’s chances don’t increase on some level.
Winning
The most valuable thing a player can do for his team is help it win. Racking up stats is great and it shows how great of a player you are. Ultimately, winning beats all.
Historically, the Most Valuable Player award is given to a star from one of the league’s top teams. While there’s no set requirement or criteria for winning the award, it traditionally goes to a winner. Leading one of the best teams is a sign of how valuable you are.
Last year, the voters broke that. They voted for Russell Westbrook who had his Oklahoma City Thunder in the sixth seed. He averaged a triple-double for an entire season and exceeded all team expectations as well. While it broke tradition, it was understandable. He was fantastic.
Winning still matters. I imagine voters don’t want to set a dangerous precedent of awarding stat-stuffing stars who aren’t at the top of the standings. While winning is a team effort, one player can have a huge impact on outcomes in basketball.
Stephen Curry will win a lot of games this season. The Golden State Warriors could, reasonably, win at least 70 games. Another historic season–especially if they break their own record–could put the Warriors’ stars in good position to win the award.
If Curry is clearly the best player on a 70+ win team that dominates every other contender throughout the year, then he has a shot at the award.
He’s fed up.
For a few years there, LeBron James was the most criticized professional athlete. After he left the Cleveland Cavaliers to join the Miami Heat, he was ridiculed. When he lost the NBA Finals to the Dallas Mavericks, he was called an overrated choker whose claim to the throne was fraudulent.
James is no longer the most disrespected star in the league. It’s Stephen Curry. And it’s not particularly close.
Players with less going from their earn more respect. It’s not just Twitter trolls that aren’t giving Curry the credit he deserves. From media members calling him a “collaborative talent” to fellow NBA players ranking him outside of the top-10 in the league, there’s something off about the way everyone evaluates Curry.
Part of the overall disdain for him stems from the fact that the Golden State Warriors are so dominant. Curry’s style is unlike anything we’ve seen before and it’s hard for many to process how a star who plays like him can be so great. A guy like, say, Russell Westbrook is more obviously good.
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Curry is a human and he can only take so much of it. When he gets upset, it translates into a barrage of three-pointers. Frustration turns into steals and buckets.
He consistently proves people wrong. It’s about time people started putting some respeck on Steph Curry’s name and he’s going to do it.