For the first time in NBA history, we have a unanimous winner for the MVP award. It seems incomprehensible that Michael Jordan was never the unanimous MVP, but he wasn’t. Neither was Lebron James or Shaquille O’Neal. Kobe Bryant was never the unanimous MVP. Not Larry Bird. Not Magic Johnson. Nobody, until Curry. There has always had to be that contrarian, the guy who argued that MVP isn’t the best player in the league, but the one who presents the most value to the team. That logic would always lead to some obscure pick like James Harden or Carmelo Anthony, but not this year. This year, the voters all turned in their ballots with the same name written at the top: Stephen Curry.
Unless your name is Tracy McGrady, it is pretty easy to see why Curry received every single vote: he averaged over 30 points and 6.5 assists per game for the winningest team in NBA history. The Golden State Warriors went an NBA best 73-9 during the regular season, besting Jordan’s 96-97 Chicago Bulls by one game. It certainly takes an immense amount of luck to win 73 games in a single NBA season, but it also takes an extraordinary amount of skill, focus, and determination. Curry leads by example, and his team never lost sight of the end goal. Yes, the Warriors had won the NBA championship last year and have another one in their sights this year, but how many NBA champions do you actually remember? How many casual basketball fans remember who won the championship in 2006? Now how many fans know exactly which team went 72-10, what year they did it, and the player who led that team? 72-10 was iconic for almost two decades, but now it has been replaced and 73-9 is the new deep, dark desire of every NBA team entering the season.
Klay Thompson, Curry’s backcourt teammate, is an excellent basketball player. So is Draymond Green, but there is no doubt who leads the Warriors. Never before has a basketball player been legitimately expected to make half-court shots every time he shoots one. Never before has a player routinely pulled up for a jumper from the center court logo and drained a three, only to turn back and jog the few paces back to play defense as if nothing spectacular happened. Let’s keep in mind that the Golden State Warriors hold a half-court shooting contest to see who can win the collective pot of cash every few months, and Curry isn’t even allowed to have a turn until every other staffer and player has had a chance at making the half-court shot.
I know personally, I will never forget watching Curry carve up the Wisconsin defense in the NCAA tournament when he was donning a Davidson jersey. I prayed that he would fall to the Bucks at number 10, but we were destined to get Brandon Jennings instead. I know, that line depressed me as well.
Curry always was a special basketball player, but special is no longer an accurate word to describe him. Curry is truly one-of-a-kind.
