ESPN has interesting Stephen Curry take that even Warriors fans may not agree with

The Golden State Warriors have been one of the NBA's biggest surprises through the first month of the season, with their impressive 12-5 team record leading to a number of players finding themselves in early conversations for individual awards.

With nearly 20 games now in the books, the experts at ESPN have once again voted on who they think will win the major NBA awards. The Warriors feature far more prominently than they did prior to the season, with no less than three players finding themselves in voting.

Even some Warriors fans may not agree with Stephen Curry's place in MVP voting

Buddy Hield has cooled off since his scorching start to the season, yet unsurprisingly still ranks highly when it comes to Sixth Man of the Year. The 31-year-old sharpshooter received 31 points in ESPN's voting system, ranked only behind Boston Celtics guard Payton Pritchard with 39.

Hield is third in bench scoring (minimum 10 games off the bench) behind Jordan Clarkson and Pritchard, while Golden State teammate Jonathan Kuminga currently ranks fourth.

Draymond Green continues to be one of the best and most versatile defenders in the league, currently tied for second for Defensive Player of the Year according to ESPN's voting. Victor Wembanyama remains the favorite, while Anthony Davis and Dyson Daniels join Green in the top four.

A rejuvenated Steve Kerr also received votes for Coach of the Year, ranking third behind his former assistant Kenny Atkinson and Celtics lead man Joe Mazulla.

Yet perhaps the most surprising element of the voting from a Warrior perspective was the presence of their superstar, Stephen Curry, in the conversation for MVP. The 36-year-old was tied for fifth in an award dominated by Nikola Jokic who is hunting a fourth MVP.

Curry has had some huge moments and major performances, including back-to-back games of 36 and 37 points against the Oklahoma City Thunder and Dallas Mavericks. Curry's 28 points against the Brooklyn Nets on Monday was just his third 25+ point outing in his other 12 games, while he also had a three-game absence earlier in the season due to an ankle injury.

The 2x MVP is currently averaging 22.4 points per game -- the lowest since his third year in 2011-12. Curry has been incredibly efficient in shooting nearly 44.4% from deep, but Golden State's strong start has been bred from a strength in numbers approach more so than their superstar playing at a truly MVP-level.

It just goes to show that given Curry remains the engine of everything the Warriors do, any MVP case is just as predicated on the team record than it is his individual numbers.