His newest NBA MVP trophy isn’t the only place Steph Curry’s name belongs.
After two more superlatives in a season that’s been defined by them, Curry has proved he belongs among the game’s all-time greats. Bill Russell. Wilt Chamberlain. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Larry Bird. Magic Johnson. Michael Jordan. Kobe Bryant. LeBron James.
And, yes, Steph Curry, the NBA’s first unanimous MVP.
“He has changed the game of basketball,” said Steve Nash, himself a two-time MVP and now a player development consultant for the Golden State Warriors.
If you are looking for justification for including Curry on the NBA’s Mt. Rushmore beyond his Pop-a-Shot-like numbers, there it is. The game is different than it was seven years ago – heck, seven months ago – because of him.
His ball-handling skills, his quickness, his passing and, yes, his range that extends well beyond the 3-point line has forced the rest of the NBA to alter its game. With the exception of Dwight Howard, DeAndre Jordan and maybe Andre Drummond, true centers are fading in importance. In their place are quick and slippery guards and forwards who can defend the 3 but get inside if and when need be.
You see it in the NBA. You see it in college. And you see it on the playground, where kids are dribbling two balls at once in warmups and then swishing 3s as if they were free throws. That’s an impact that will be felt for years to come.
“It’s so much different now, the way he plays,” Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said Tuesday, according to The Associated Press. “You’d never even think about, ever, attempting 15 3s as an individual in the game and be able to make as many 3s as he does. The passing and all of that, I think that’s his greatness: the impact of change that he’s making on the game.
“It’s exciting for the game.”
Good for the game, too.
Despite playing on the West Coast, when most games start as half the country is going to bed, Curry and the Warriors have been appointment viewing all season. There was the historic 73-9 season that topped the Chicago Bulls for the single-season wins record, a quest that was as audacious as it seemed insurmountable.
And there was Curry himself. You had to at least watch the highlights because odds were he was going to do something spectacular.
Take Monday night.
Returning from a sprained knee, Curry dropped 40 points on the Portland Trail Blazers and flirted with a triple-double to move the Warriors within a game of the Western Conference finals. (Just imagine what he’ll do once he knocks the rust off.)
He single-handedly outscored Portland in OT, his 17 points the most by any player in overtime. Regular season or playoffs.
Ever.
With the world still huddled around computer screens watching replays – that explains all those “Whoas!” you heard Tuesday morning – news came that Curry had won MVP honors for a second year in a row.
For the first time in the 61-year history of the award, though, the vote was unanimous. Think about that. Russell, Kareem, Magic, MJ – as good as they were, none was ever a unanimous MVP. There was always somebody who could make a case for being every bit as good and, for one voter at least, just a little bit better.
Not this year. And it’s not because the league is “watered down,” as Tracy McGrady tried to claim. It’s because Curry is that much better than anyone else.
His 402 3-pointers shattered his own NBA record, and he led the league in scoring -- improving his average from last year’s MVP campaign by 6.3 points, no less.
But to say he is “only” a shooter, as critics do, does not give him credit for all the other things he does on the floor. He finished the regular season first in steals, and 10th in assists. Against Portland on Monday night, he had nine rebounds and eight assists.
“Winning the MVP last year wasn’t enough,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said at Curry’s MVP ceremony. “You came back this year dramatically better. … There’s no agenda, it’s just, `I want to get better.’ And every day you come in and work.”
Adding Curry’s name to the list of all-time greats does not mean someone else’s has to be taken off. You can marvel at Curry’s otherworldliness and still be in awe of Abdul-Jabbar or Jordan.
Curry is a special player, the likes of which we rarely see but whose impact is widely felt. If that doesn't define greatness, I don't know who does.
