Golden State Warriors: Stephen Curry deserves MVP recognition

We aren’t surprised that Stephen Curry isn’t leading any MVP races just yet, but it is peculiar to see how few are giving the Golden State Warriors‘ star his recognition. He has arguably been a top-three player this year, yet is overlooked by most.

This is mostly due to the Warriors’ record. It’s hard to win an MVP when your team is on the borderline of missing the playoffs. Unless you’re posting a triple-double every night (Russell Westbrook), you aren’t going to get much attention as a bottom-seeded superstar.

The Golden State Warriors might not have a great record, but Stephen Curry is deserving of more MVP consideration.

The season has been pretty easy to predict for the Warriors. They’ve handled the weaker opponents relatively easily, while the stronger teams have held a clear advantage over them. The supporting cast has been inconsistent, but Curry has been great almost every night.

Stricly looking at which players are ‘most valuable’ to their team, is Curry not the clear choice here? While other stars like Paul George, LeBron James, Joel Embiid and Nikola Jokic all have the benefit of a better win percentage – they aren’t as solely responsible for their team’s success as Curry is.

The Warriors were the worst team in the NBA last season without Curry. And, all indicators point towards a similar outcome this year if Curry were to be sidelined for whatever reason. He’s posting MVP caliber numbers of 28.2 points, 6.1 assists and 5.7 rebounds on shooting splits of 47/41/93. All he’s missing is the wins – which could be coming soon.

There are obviously a few different directions the Dubs’ season could go. No one should be surprised if they fall out of the playoff picture and become content with being a lottery team – or just barely scrapping into the postseason for a bit of experience.

However, there is still a chance this team hits its stride and pushes for a higher seed. The Warriors are only four games back from the third-seeded Los Angeles Lakers. They’ve also had one of the toughest schedules in the league so far – and the 10th easiest schedule remaining.

Curry could very well make a last-second push for the MVP award if the Dubs capitalize on their strength of schedule and lift themselves into a top seed in the West. I’m just saying, be on the lookout for a shocking conclusion to the season.