TWO FOR THE SHOW
One more time, Curry is NBA’s MVP
After Stephen Curry pulled up an absurd distance from the basket and watched one of the three heat-seeking, 3-point missiles he fired off in overtime fall through the basket, he turned and made sure everyone there and watching around the world knew what he was thinking. “I’m here!” he shouted. Then: “I’m back!” And again: “I’m back!”
Curry was indeed back. After suffering a sprained MCL in the Golden State Warriors’ first-round victory over Houston, the reigning Most Valuable Player was given the all-clear to return from a twoweek absence for Game 4 of Golden State’s Western Conference semifinal against the Trail Blazers in Portland’s Moda Center. He responded by scoring 27 points in the fourth quarter and overtime — including an NBA record 17 in OT alone on 6-for-7 shooting. He was not some hobbled fraction of himself, nor some limited decoy. Here was Stephen Curry, finishing with 40 points, nine rebounds and eight assists in 36 minutes to lead the Warriors to a 132-125 victory, lifting Golden State to a commanding three games to one lead in the series, and looking the MVP he is and will be again.
It was fitting that Curry’s return to the court, and his latest stunning performance, coincided with news he’s been named the NBA’s Most Valuable Player for a second straight season — and the first to be a unanimous selection. He’s just the 11th player in NBA history to be voted MVP in consecutive seasons and the first guard to do so since Steve Nash in 2004-05 and 2005-06.
The theme fits nicely into the framework that has defined Curry’s meteoric rise to the top of the sport, namely his ability to consistently surpass any and all expectations.
As Curry helped lead the Warriors to an NBA record for regularseason victories, he obliterated the NBA record books. Curry not only became the first person to make 300 3-pointers in a single season, he became the first to make 400. He became the first person to win the league’s scoring title while converting 50 per cent of his shots overall, 40 per cent from 3-point range and 90 per cent from the foul line. He averaged the fewest minutes per game of any player in NBA history to average 30 points per game in a season. He finished with a player efficiency rating of 31.46, according to Basketball-Reference.com, a better number than anyone not named Wilt Chamberlain, Michael Jordan or LeBron James in NBA history.
Now there already is talk about next season, about how the Warriors will have to take a step back from an NBA record season, and how Curry could never possibly replicate a season that’s this good again in his career.
Maybe, after a decade of watching Curry repeatedly surpass the basketball world’s expectations, altering perceptions of him from a question mark and thrusting himself into all-time great discussions, it’s time to stop assuming Curry can’t do anything.