Is Stephen Curry MVP? Mark Jackson, Anthony Davis Wouldn't Vote for Him

Stephen Curry is one of the leading candidates in the MVP race. Curry is averaging 23.7 points, 4.2 rebounds, 7.8 assists, and 2.1 steals per game on 48.3 percent shooting from the field, 43.4 percent shooting from three-point range, and 91.8 percent free throw shooting. In addition, Curry is the best player on the best team in the NBA, the Golden State Warriors.

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Curry is certainly deserving of the MVP award, but the MVP race will be extremely tight this season. Curry will have to beat out fellow superstars James Harden, Russell Westbrook, and LeBron James, in order to be named MVP.

A few weeks ago, both Steve Kerr and Andrew Bogut weighed in on the MVP race. They both expressed that they’d rather the team focus on getting wins than the MVP race, but Kerr and Bogut strongly believe that Curry is the NBA’s MVP this season. Here’s what Kerr told Monte Poole of Comcast Sportsnet Bay Area:

"“I care,” Kerr said after practice. “I’d like for Steph to win the MVP and I think he deserves it.“But I don’t think it’s our job to promote it. We’re trying to win games. We’ve got a lot of work to do.”…“If Daryl Morey wants to run his own one-man campaign for James Harden, he can do that. That’s fine,” Kerr said. “But we’re focused on other stuff.”"

And here’s what Bogut told Poole:

"“We’re not (focused on it) as a team,” Bogut said. “But we obviously think that Steph’s the MVP right now.”“Westbrook’s having a great year, but he missed a fair bit of time,” Bogut pointed out. “But we never really get the attention like some of these other teams. I don’t know if that’s a part of it, but Steph’s obviously deserving of the MVP at this point of the season. There’s no doubt about it.”"

Curry also recently spoke with Diamond Leung of the Bay Area News Group about his desire to win MVP:

"“If my play doesn’t speak for that point, then me saying it after games — ‘I want to be MVP, I want to be MVP’ — I don’t think that’s going to help anything,” Curry said before the game. “My job is to go out and play at a high level every single night, lead my team, continue to try to help win games. All that will hopefully be a good enough resume to get that honor.“It’s something that I do want. It’s one of the highest honors in the league to be an MVP of the season. I know what that means. Hopefully we finish out the season strong in the right way, and people notice what’s going on on the court as opposed to what’s being said.”"

Will Curry earn enough votes to win the MVP race? Former Warriors head coach Mark Jackson and New Orleans Pelicans superstar Anthony Davis both said recently that they wouldn’t vote for Curry in the MVP race. They complimented Curry on his talent and his incredible season, and they did say that they thought it’d be a tight race. However, they both picked Harden over Curry as MVP.

Here’s what Jackson said about this topic on the Dan Patrick Show on Thursday:

"“I think there’s four guys in the discussion in LeBron, Westbrook, Curry and Harden,” Jackson said Thursday morning on “The Dan Patrick Show.” “If you twisted my arm today, I would probably vote for James Harden. And the reason why is because he singlehandedly has put that Houston Rockets team in position that they’re in today.It’€™d be tough. I think Steph Curry, I’m totally fine with, obviously, he’s my guy. I’€™m fine with selecting him. The season that he’€™s had has been incredible. Westbrook with 10 triple-doubles and carrying that team, injury prone, into the playoffs. LeBron being the best player in the world. But I think right now I would go with James Harden for what he’€™s done. And he’s stepped up his game defensively. He’€™s not a great defender, but he’€™s competing on the defensive end.”"

And here’s what Davis said about the MVP race on the Dan Patrick Show on Wednesday:

"“You know, it’s tough,” Davis said. “There’s a lot of guys playing out of their minds. James Harden, Russ[ell Westbrook], Steph[en Curry], you know, LeBron [James]. But … [long pause] I mean, James Harden. It’d probably have to be James.“He’s out of his mind. He’s definitely playing out of his mind. We talk about this with my team every day. Like, every day … It’s tough. It’s going to be great to see who gets it. All three guys -James, Steph and Russ – are playing out of their minds right now. Especially Russ.”"

Who would get your MVP vote if you had one? Is Curry’s argument that he’s the best player on the best team strong enough that he deserves the award? Does Harden deserve it more? Should James win since he’s the best player in the NBA? Does Westbrook’s hot streak since the All-Star Game earn him the award?

Let us know in the comments section below.

Next: Warriors Mailbag: Playoff Rotation, Bogut/Green, NBA Title

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Is Stephen Curry MVP? Mark Jackson, Anthony Davis Wouldn’t Vote for Him

By Maggie Pilloton | Apr 3, 2015