Stephen Curry’s numbers are almost identical to his unanimous MVP campaign

Stephen Curry has two MVPs to his name, and to many people’s surprise, his level of play this season is matching that of when he was a unanimous MVP.

After playing five games last season and watching his five-time All-Star shooting guard be sidelined, Stephen Curry is making up for them both this season. Klay Thompson went down with a torn Achilles late in 2020 after tearing his ACL in Game 6 of the 2019 NBA Finals.

While many thought Thompson’s injury would doom the Warriors, Curry is proving otherwise as they’re going to playoff-contenders despite many preseasons analysts claiming they’d be among the worst in the West.

It’s all been thanks for Curry, who is putting up MVP-like numbers this season. Curry has two MVPs to his name and, in a league typically run by LeBron James, was the NBA’s only unanimous MVP despite the four-time award winner being in the running that season.

Curry hasn’t been getting much love for the award this season as Joel Embiid, Nikola Jokic and James are the frontrunners, but he’s looking to change that. Curry is 0.1 points away from averaging a career-high.

Notching 30.0 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 5.9 assists per game, Curry’s numbers resemble those that won him the MVP without a single first-place vote going elsewhere. Curry’s numbers that year were 30.1 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 6.7 assists per game.

He was shooting better that season, but the splits between the two years are 1.4 percent better from the field and 1.9 percent better from deep. Handling more responsibility with Thompson out, Curry is shooting a career-high 20.3 attempts per game.

As of Friday afternoon, the Warriors are 14-12, 8th place in the Western Conference. That’s important to note because, when Curry was the league’s unanimous MVP, the Warriors won a league-high 73 games.

A regular-season award by nature, the league’s voters typically play the success of the team into how they nominate, and that season was one of the most unique with Golden State shattering records.

This season, they’ll be lucky to crack the top six seeds in the Western Conference. That could be why Curry isn’t in the conversation, and whether you find that ridiculous or not, it helped get Curry in an exclusive group of one that may never be seen again.

Not counting last season, since he played just five games, Curry is on pace to continue shooting over 40 percent from deep. Continuing to play his style of basketball, the superstar is at 43.5 percent from deep and five made triples per game.

Stephen Curry has changed basketball and, given his numbers this season, must be in consideration for the most prestigious individual accolade.