Curry is coming off of two consecutive MVPS, and thus is the presumed favorite to achieve the first to "three-peat" for the award since Larry Bird from 1984-86. In one of the greatest seasons in recent memory, Steph averaged 30.1 points, 6.7 assists, 5.4 rebounds, 2.1 steals and a ridiculous 5.1 made threes per game last year. He also smashed through the immortal 50/40/90 (FG%/3P%/FT%) with shooting splits of 50.4/45.4/90.8 en route to a PER of 31.56, the best since LeBron posted 31.67 in 2012-13 in what was arguably James' best season ever. Not only that, but Curry also crushed his own record of 286 threes made in a season by hitting a whopping 402 this past year. He led his Warriors to a 73-9 record, breaking Michael Jordan's 1995-96 Chicago Bulls' seemingly-immortal 72-10 mark. Of course, however, Golden State fell to LeBron and Cleveland in game seven of the NBA Finals after holding a 3-1 series lead, but that doesn't take away too much from what was otherwise an absolutely legendary season for Stephen Curry.
But there's now been a new wrench thrown into the equation, and the wrench's name is Kevin Durant. While obviously improving the team's title chances even further, the affect KD will have on Curry's MVP chances are much less clear.
First, we have to assume that the Warriors' new superstar doesn't screw up the flawless chemistry on this team. GM Bob Myers did an excellent job in making the whole acquisition work, managing to hold onto both Draymond Green and Klay Thompson while building a solid supporting cast around the four stars; however, there were nonetheless losses that had to be suffered due to the strained finances that KD's contract caused, and key members of Golden State's championship team -- namely Harrison Barnes and Andrew Bogut -- were lost. Still, it's safe to say that a team this talented will figure things out, even if it stumbles a little out of the gate. Odds are that the Warriors finish with the league's best record.
Now, if that happens for the third straight year, we can immediately assume that either Curry or Durant will be crowned MVP -- a top-three player in the league on the best team is basically an automatic Maurice Podoloff Trophy these days, much less two such players. Thus it would come down to Stephen Curry vs. Kevin Durant -- who is truly the leader of the Warriors?
On the flip side, however, we should briefly consider what would happen in the MVP race should the Warriors crash and burn before getting into the aforementioned debate. If this were to happen, then San Antonio would likely take over the West's number one seed. In that scenario, Kawhi Leonard could become a frontrunner for the award, especially if he builds on last season's impressive numbers. The other favorite would of course be LeBron James, assuming his Cavaliers retain the East's top spot. If Kawhi and LeBron each secure number one seeds in their respective conferences, expect them both to have better chances of winning MVP than either Curry or Durant.
But again, returning to the main scenario of the Warriors having the NBA's best record, the MVP debate is almost instantly excluded to just Curry and Durant, with James maybe having an outside shot if the Cavs have the East's best record and other circumstances permit. But ultimately, no matter who you consider the better Warrior, Golden State is considered Curry's team, and it would be absolutely shocking to see Durant just come over to this squad and claim MVP -- and the "team's best player and leader" moniker that goes along with it -- over Steph. Ultimately, even though there will be co-alpha dogs on this team now, the true leader hasn't changed, and neither has the favorite in the MVP race overall.
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To conclude this segment, I'd like to clarify as to who I think will win MVP this upcoming season. Here are the latest MVP odds, as provided by Basketball.RealGM.com:
Stephen Curry 15/4
LeBron James 15/4
Russell Westbrook 4/1
Kevin Durant 8/1
Anthony Davis 14/1
James Harden 16/1
Kawhi Leonard 16/1
Paul George 22/1
Blake Griffin 22/1
Damian Lillard 28/1
Giannis Antetokounmpo 33/1
Carmelo Anthony 33/1
DeMarcus Cousins 33/1
Kyrie Irving 33/1
Chris Paul 33/1
Draymond Green 50/1
Karl Anthony Towns 50/1
Let me start by saying that if I were in Vegas, it wouldn't hurt to throw a couple bucks on the 50/1 Towns, and maybe do so on Irving (33/1) as well, considering he would have decent chances if LeBron got injured and the Warriors crashed. You could also sprinkle a little bit of cash on Lillard (28/1) and/or George (22/1) if you were feeling lucky, but Kawhi Leonard (16/1) is the first legitimate bet going up that list from the bottom, considering that he is the best player on one of the best teams. But as to my actual favorite to win the Maurice Podoloff Trophy, between Curry and LeBron, I'd have to say Curry. If everything goes right for him -- his Warriors finish with the league's best record, and he retains the 'team leader' mantle from Durant -- versus if everything goes right for LeBron -- his Cavs are tops in the East, and he puts up a stat line similar to last season's -- it would undoubtedly be an MVP three-peat for Steph. The only thing is, that LeBron's optimal scenario is more likely to occur than Curry's optimal scenario. While Curry is the favorite, there are a couple of things that could go wrong for him; namely, Durant out-performing him (which would in turn make KD the MVP favorite), and the Durant signing messing up the Warriors' flawless chemistry, and the team in turn tanking like the 2012-13 superteam Lakers. But LeBron is sure to finish not only as the best player in the East, but also with the best team in that conference, making him a sure thing to finish somewhere within the top two or three of MVP voting. Thus, while I do consider Curry the favorite, there are nonetheless certain risks attached to picking him to for the award, which is why I consider LeBron the safest bet.
But there's now been a new wrench thrown into the equation, and the wrench's name is Kevin Durant. While obviously improving the team's title chances even further, the affect KD will have on Curry's MVP chances are much less clear.
First, we have to assume that the Warriors' new superstar doesn't screw up the flawless chemistry on this team. GM Bob Myers did an excellent job in making the whole acquisition work, managing to hold onto both Draymond Green and Klay Thompson while building a solid supporting cast around the four stars; however, there were nonetheless losses that had to be suffered due to the strained finances that KD's contract caused, and key members of Golden State's championship team -- namely Harrison Barnes and Andrew Bogut -- were lost. Still, it's safe to say that a team this talented will figure things out, even if it stumbles a little out of the gate. Odds are that the Warriors finish with the league's best record.
Now, if that happens for the third straight year, we can immediately assume that either Curry or Durant will be crowned MVP -- a top-three player in the league on the best team is basically an automatic Maurice Podoloff Trophy these days, much less two such players. Thus it would come down to Stephen Curry vs. Kevin Durant -- who is truly the leader of the Warriors?
On the flip side, however, we should briefly consider what would happen in the MVP race should the Warriors crash and burn before getting into the aforementioned debate. If this were to happen, then San Antonio would likely take over the West's number one seed. In that scenario, Kawhi Leonard could become a frontrunner for the award, especially if he builds on last season's impressive numbers. The other favorite would of course be LeBron James, assuming his Cavaliers retain the East's top spot. If Kawhi and LeBron each secure number one seeds in their respective conferences, expect them both to have better chances of winning MVP than either Curry or Durant.
But again, returning to the main scenario of the Warriors having the NBA's best record, the MVP debate is almost instantly excluded to just Curry and Durant, with James maybe having an outside shot if the Cavs have the East's best record and other circumstances permit. But ultimately, no matter who you consider the better Warrior, Golden State is considered Curry's team, and it would be absolutely shocking to see Durant just come over to this squad and claim MVP -- and the "team's best player and leader" moniker that goes along with it -- over Steph. Ultimately, even though there will be co-alpha dogs on this team now, the true leader hasn't changed, and neither has the favorite in the MVP race overall.
--------------------------------------------
To conclude this segment, I'd like to clarify as to who I think will win MVP this upcoming season. Here are the latest MVP odds, as provided by Basketball.RealGM.com:
Stephen Curry 15/4
LeBron James 15/4
Russell Westbrook 4/1
Kevin Durant 8/1
Anthony Davis 14/1
James Harden 16/1
Kawhi Leonard 16/1
Paul George 22/1
Blake Griffin 22/1
Damian Lillard 28/1
Giannis Antetokounmpo 33/1
Carmelo Anthony 33/1
DeMarcus Cousins 33/1
Kyrie Irving 33/1
Chris Paul 33/1
Draymond Green 50/1
Karl Anthony Towns 50/1
Let me start by saying that if I were in Vegas, it wouldn't hurt to throw a couple bucks on the 50/1 Towns, and maybe do so on Irving (33/1) as well, considering he would have decent chances if LeBron got injured and the Warriors crashed. You could also sprinkle a little bit of cash on Lillard (28/1) and/or George (22/1) if you were feeling lucky, but Kawhi Leonard (16/1) is the first legitimate bet going up that list from the bottom, considering that he is the best player on one of the best teams. But as to my actual favorite to win the Maurice Podoloff Trophy, between Curry and LeBron, I'd have to say Curry. If everything goes right for him -- his Warriors finish with the league's best record, and he retains the 'team leader' mantle from Durant -- versus if everything goes right for LeBron -- his Cavs are tops in the East, and he puts up a stat line similar to last season's -- it would undoubtedly be an MVP three-peat for Steph. The only thing is, that LeBron's optimal scenario is more likely to occur than Curry's optimal scenario. While Curry is the favorite, there are a couple of things that could go wrong for him; namely, Durant out-performing him (which would in turn make KD the MVP favorite), and the Durant signing messing up the Warriors' flawless chemistry, and the team in turn tanking like the 2012-13 superteam Lakers. But LeBron is sure to finish not only as the best player in the East, but also with the best team in that conference, making him a sure thing to finish somewhere within the top two or three of MVP voting. Thus, while I do consider Curry the favorite, there are nonetheless certain risks attached to picking him to for the award, which is why I consider LeBron the safest bet.
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