Stephen Curry: Most Valuable Player
“MVP. MVP. MVP,” the crowd chants as their star player heads to the line.
It’s been done on countless occasions for numerous deserving players by NBA fans everywhere. Of the superstar players that have received MVP chants, two players have established themselves above the others, and fans of each player have argued with each other over which of the two deserves to take home one of the most prestigious awards in the league.
We’re all making this so much more complicated than it needs to be, so let’s end the debate here and now: Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors is the league’s MVP.
James Harden, LeBron James, Russell Westbrook — each of them great players, each of them the undisputed leaders of their respective teams this season, and all equally deserving of taking home the MVP award at the end of the season.
We could go straight to the stats and argue about how Harden is currently the highest scoring player in the league, how important James is to the Cleveland Cavaliers or how amazing Westbrook has been the past 10 games on averages of 29.5 points, 8.2 rebounds and 10.1 assists, but there’s one stat that trumps all others:
44-10.
(Mandatory Credit: Bred Penner, USA Today Sports)
Over the past decade, we’ve been lucky enough to witness Steve Nash win back-to-back MVPs by leading a ragtag Phoenix Suns team to a couple of memorable playoff appearances; we’ve seen the first European player in Dirk Nowitzki take home the Maurice Podoloff trophy after an incredible 67-win season; and we’ve watched a high school kid from Akron, Ohio grow to be one of the most dynamic and dominating players of the modern era.
But out of the past 10 seasons, one thing has remained fairly consistent: the MVP award has been given to the best player on the best team.
Getting into the specifics, the best player on the best team received the MVP award seven times over the last 10 seasons. As for the other three times, MVP honors were given to the best player on the second best team.
If we frame this model in today’s NBA, the Warriors hold the best record in the NBA at 44-10, followed by the Atlanta Hawks at 44-12. The two best players from both those teams are Curry and Jeff Teague, and the latter has also been considered among the top-ten MVP candidates.
The difference, however, lies in the individual numbers:
[table id=33 /]
In addition, Curry has proven himself one of the most efficient players in the entire NBA: he’s currently ranked third in Player Efficiency Rating (28.03) behind LeBron James and Russell Westbrook, and he’s first in Real Plus-Minus (8.59). He also leads the NBA in Win Shares per 48 Minutes (.291) and Net Rating (16.9).
The MVP of the league shouldn’t be determined by which player is needed the most by his respective team: Harden, James, Westbrook and Teague are all central to their respective teams’ success, and the same can be said for plenty of other All-Star players playing for each of the NBA’s 30 teams.
Live Feed
FanSided
That especially goes for Harden, who is second in RPM (8.05), sixth in PER (27.29), first in overall Win Shares (11.8) and first in Value Over Replacement Player (5.7). Unfortunately for him, the Houston Rockets are currently 38-18, which is good enough for third in the Western Conference and fourth overall in the NBA.
In his defense (something that Curry notably surpasses Harden in), Harden’s team — in addition to much of the other teams — has suffered a good deal at the hands of the injury bug that has plagued the NBA the whole year (my best wishes go out to Derrick Rose). And unlike Curry with Klay Thompson, Harden doesn’t have another All-Star or go-to scorer to help contribute night in and night out.
But even accounting for those things, the Warriors are undeniably the best team in the NBA, and Curry is one of the biggest reasons for that. If some fans believe the team’s record has been a result of an easy schedule, they have to come to terms with the fact that NBA season is almost over and the Warriors have JUST recently joined the rest of the NBA in double-digit losses.
More from Golden State Warriors
- Warriors unlikely to draft Anthony Edwards due to character concerns
- Warriors: September minicamp mimics NBA bubble
- Warriors: Eric Paschall named to NBA All-Rookie first team
- Warriors reportedly eyeing a wing in the 2020 NBA Draft
- Warriors: Is the team destined to trade its No. 2 overall draft pick?
They also sit comfortably at the first seed in the West with a 3.5-game lead over the Memphis Grizzlies, defeating teams at a season-high +10.6 point differential (the closest is the Los Angeles Clippers at +6.2).
This is, by the way, the same conference that many hold to be the toughest of the two, where being .500 just isn’t enough to secure the last playoff seed — and the Warriors have lost just seven games to other West teams.
At this rate, Golden State is set to go down as one of the best teams in NBA history, leading the league in both Pace (101.09) and Defensive Efficiency (97.7), and they’re second in Offensive Efficiency (109.6). Such a feat has only been accomplished by the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls, which achieved a historical 72-10 record led by Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen and current Warriors head coach, Steve Kerr (to an extent).
So let’s get the record straight right now — the Warriors are currently the best team in the NBA, and Wardell Stephen Curry II is the best player in the NBA this season. As long as the team continues to hold the best record, Curry will be crowned the 2014-15 MVP.
Cloture.