Now that Stephen Curry has run down Michael Jordan and the Bulls’ legendary 72-win team with a season for the ages, we’ll see if he can break an even more imposing record.
When it’s come to the MVP voting, there has never been a unanimous selection in NBA history. We’ve always had icons of the game win MVPs, including Jordan, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O’Neal and more recently, LeBron James. But none has ever taken the league’s top honor in a clean sweep.
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This should be the year we see history made. At the minimum, Curry is considered a lock to win his second-straight MVP in a landslide, given his other-worldly offensive numbers. The real drama is who’s finishing second. Among his more impressive feats:
• He’s the first guard since Jordan in 1991-92 to average 30 points per game while also shooting 50 percent from the field.
• He obliterated his own record for 3-pointers by knocking down 10 against Memphis when the Warriors set the wins record. He became the first player to eclipse 300 then 400 for a season, finishing with 402 and shattering his record of 286 from last season.
• He improved his primary stats from last season, including his scoring, shooting (50% this season), 3-point shooting (45%) and rebounds (4.6).
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When you factor in his overall impact as Golden State did what was once thought to be impossible, by breaking one of Jordan’s signature records even with coach Steve Kerr sidelined for the first 43 games, Curry deserves to make history by getting all 130 first-place votes.
“I don’t care if Steph was playing in the rec league or on the Dream Team, his accomplishments this year are mind-boggling and he should be the first unanimous MVP," Pacers legend Reggie Miller said Thursday on a TNT playoffs teleconference.
But Miller has been around long enough to know how it works in the NBA. It’s not a vote asking for one candidate. In that case, Curry would be automatic.
Voters are asked for their top five candidates. So there’s always a chance that someone from the hometown newspaper or a biased team broadcaster will vote for the local superstar. Yes, it can be a very provincial vote, which is exactly what Miller expects.
“You know that someone is not going to give him a first-place vote and he will not be the unanimous MVP," he said. “You’ll get someone in Oklahoma City who will vote for Russell Westbrook because he had 18 triple-doubles (the most in the NBA since Magic Johnson in 1982). Or, there will be someone in San Antonio who will vote for Kawhi Leonard because of his all-around play and because he’s the best two-way player in the league. That’s why Steph won’t get it unanimously, but of course, he should."
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If not now, when?
We’ve asked that question before. O’Neal and James came the closest to pulling off the feat, each producing a transcendent season in the last 16 years. But both fell one first-place vote short of a unanimous selection.
In 2000, Shaq had arguably his greatest all-around season. He led the league in scoring for the only time (29.7) in his Hall of Fame career, produced his second-best rebound season (13.7 per game) and averaged nearly four assists per game. Throw in his dominance at the defensive end, where he came up with three blocks a game, his second-highest average, and he made a strong case for sweeping the vote while leading the Lakers to the league’s best record, at 67-15 record. The Lakers were the only team to win at least 60 games, with Portland sporting the next-best record, at 59-23.
But one voter, CNN’s Fred Hickman, decided to cast his first-place vote for Philadelphia’s Allen Iverson, who wasn’t regarded as a top candidate and finished in seventh place. The NBA was as astonished as everyone by Hickman’s choice, so it approached him to see if he wanted to change his vote to O’Neal.
But Hickman declined, costing Shaq a chance to make history in what turned out to be his only regular-season MVP award. Hickman loved the fact that he was the minority of one. This was back when the league conducted its balloting in secrecy, as opposed to today’s posting of voters’ selections. But Hickman didn’t mind the fact that he had gotten a good degree of publicity when his lone vote had become known.
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In James’ case, he looked like the obvious unanimous winner in 2013. In his third season in Miami, he drove the Heat to a league-best 66-16 record, getting All-Star caliber support from Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh. Their season included a 27-game winning streak, the second-longest streak in one season in NBA history. But in winning his fourth MVP in a five-year span, James still came up shy of making history, with 120 out of 121 first-place votes.
“It was probably a writer out of New York who didn’t give me that vote,” James said when he learned that the Knicks’ Carmelo Anthony got the other first-place vote, but finished third, as he didn’t even appear on nine ballots. “We know the history between the Heat and Knicks so I get it.’’
Turned out, LeBron had it wrong. It was a well-respected NBA writer based in Boston, Gary Washburn of the Globe, who gave his No. 1 spot to Anthony.
Washburn looked at his first-place vote for Anthony this way: Despite having to endure a rash of injuries to several teammates, he still led the Knicks to a 54-28 record and their first Atlantic Division title in 19 years. As Washburn explained, “If you were to take Anthony off the Knicks, they are a lottery team. James plays with two other All-Stars, the league’s all-time 3-point leader, a defensive stalwart, and a fearless point guard. The Heat are loaded. If LeBron was taken away from the Heat, they still would be a fifth or sixth seed. He is the best player of this generation, a multi-faceted superstar with the physical prowess of Adonis, but I chose to reward a player who has lifted his team to new heights."
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Hearing how James was denied a clean sweep, Miller said, “that’s exactly how Steph won’t be the unanimous MVP. Someone will use the same reasoning, that he plays with Draymond (Green) and Klay (Thompson). But c’mon, you know he deserves it."
Of course he does. But even with the all-time wins record on his resume now, that doesn’t mean he’ll make history.
Mitch Lawrence's NBA awards ballot
MVP: Stephen Curry, Warriors
Coach of the Year: The Warriors' Steve Kerr might have been KO’d from the Warriors’ first 43 games, but it’s not as if he weren’t around in practices, film sessions and meetings, so he’s getting my vote. Portland’s Terry Stotts is my second choice and Charlotte’s Steve Clifford is third.
Most Improved Player: Charlotte’s Kemba Walker and Portland’s C.J. McCollum had break-out seasons in helping their respective teams to the playoffs. But Golden State’s Draymond Green went from being a very good player with one triple-double in his first three seasons to a dominant, All-NBA player who had 13 triple-doubles and was a nightly force at the defensive end.
Defensive Player of the Year: We’re going with San Antonio’s Kawhi Leonard for the second straight year, based on the Spurs having the best defense by far and Leonard’s impact as a shut-down defender against wing players and stretch fours.
Rookie of the Year: Minnesota’s Karl-Anthony Towns was as good as advertised after being the No. 1 overall draft pick. He should be the unanimous pick. Besides averaging 18 points and 10 rebounds, what we love about Towns is that he played in all 82 games and never came close to hitting the “rookie wall.’’
Sixth Man: Enes Kanter played only 21 minutes per game for Oklahoma City, but averaged almost 13 ppg on 58% shooting and eight rebounds. Per 100 possessions, the Thunder outscored opponents by 18 points with Kanter on the court.
