Curry named Clutch POY for delivering when Dubs needed him most

Stephen Curry has another trophy to add to his mantel.

The 36-year-old Warriors star was named the 202324 Clutch Player of the Year. He finished with 45 of 99 first-place votes, edging out DeMar DeRozan.

Curry is the second winner of the award, which was won by Sacramento's De'Aaron Fox last season.

Curry led the NBA in total points scored in the clutch — defined as games within five points and less than five minutes remaining — with 189. DeRozan was second (182), followed by Damian Lillard (139).

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the third finalist, ranked eighth with 112 total points.

“You've got to be able to fail,” Curry said on TNT. “You know that Jordan quote — you miss (100%) of the shots you don't take — you have to be OK with the shot that you miss and have a short memory with it. I don't know if anything clicked other than just knowing how much time you put into the game, and with that time comes deserved confidence of, `OK, I'm ready for whatever moment.' ”

When the Warriors needed him most, Curry elevated his game. In clutch situations, Curry shot 49.6% from the field and 45.7% from behind the arc — both well above his season averages.

Curry added two gamewinning shots to his resume, as he buried the Suns on Feb. 10 with a 33-footer and beat the Thunder in the In-Season Tournament with a layup at the horn.

More clutch moments from Curry were erased by disappointing sequences from his team. He put the Warriors ahead of the Lakers with his ninth 3-pointer of the game with 4.7 seconds left, only for LeBron James to hit the winning free throws on the other end as time expired. He also hit a go-ahead layup against the Hawks — in his season-high 60-point performance — but Dejounte Murray sent the game into overtime, which Atlanta won.

“Everybody remembers the highlights,” Curry said on TNT. “But there's plenty of shots that you miss. But you move on to the next. You've got to have a little amnesia built in there, that's the only way you can keep coming back to those moments with the same kind of confidence.”

Curry's Hall of Fame resume already includes four NBA championships, two MVPs, a Finals MVP, nine All-NBA selections and the all-time 3-point belt. And now, the 2023-24 Clutch Player of the Year.