Curry 1st unanimous NBA winner
STEPHEN Curry made history for the second time in as many days when he became the first unanimous choice for the NBA’s Most Valuable Player Award.
The announcement comes the day after Curry, who won the award last year, set an NBA record by scoring 17 points in overtime during Golden State’s Game 4 victory at Portland on Monday. Curry finished with 40 points in his first game since suffering a sprained knee two weeks earlier against the Houston Rockets.
“I want to be remembered as somebody that worked hard, that got the most out of my potential and talent and pushed the envelope,” Curry said. “I never really expected to change the game or spark a new way to play the game, because that’s the way I know how to play.”
The MVP award is based solely on the regular season and Curry was the best player on a Warriors team that won an NBA-record 73 games.
Curry received all 131 first-place votes in becoming the 11th player in league history to win back-toback MVPs. Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, Steve Nash and Curry are the only guards to do it.
San Antonio’s Kawhi Leonard, Cleveland’s LeBron James and Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant of Oklahoma City finished second, third, fourth and fifth, respectively.
The bottom four vote-getters were Chris Paul, Draymond Green, Damian Lillard and James Harden.
Curry swept all 131 first-place votes (1,310 points), including 130 from a panel of sportswriters and broadcasters in the United States and Canada, and one from the fan vote.
Curry, 28, led the NBA in scoring (30.1 ppg), three-pointers made (an NBA-record 402), freethrow percentage (90.8) and steals (2.14 spg), along with averaging 6.7 assists and a career-high 5.4 rebounds in 79 games.
He also shot a career-high 50.4 % from the field, the NBA’s highest mark among guards, and made 45.4% from three-point range, good for second in the league.
The Warriors opened the season by winning their first 24 games en route to a 73-9 record. They are 7-2 in the playoffs but have only had Curry available for three games.
Curry came off the bench in Monday’s win and, after missing his first nine 3-point attempts, he made five of his last seven and scored 29 in the fourth quarter and overtime.
The Warriors could advance to their second straight conference finals with a win in Game 5 on Wednesday. Curry will receive his award in a pregame ceremony in front of his home fans.