Stephen Curry has officially earned his second consecutive MVP award following a historic campaign that saw his Golden State Warriors win an NBA record 73 games. In addition, he became the first unanimous winner in the league's 61-year history, earning all 131 first-place votes.
Stephen Curry becomes the NBA’s first unanimous MVP winner
As expected, Curry has earned his second consecutive MVP. In a mild surprise, he became the first unanimous winner in the award’s history.
Kawhi Leonard edged LeBron James for second place on the list. Russell Westbrook finished fourth and Kevin Durant was fifth.
Usually, even the most obvious MVP winners don’t earn a unanimous honor because there are a few contrarians that vote for someone else. In 2013, a single writer picked Carmelo Anthony over LeBron James for the honor, robbing James of a unanimous victory.
That did not happen this year, though. Instead, six different players earned second-place votes.
Full MVP voting pic.twitter.com/mzpFNAvfu3
— Dan Feldman (@DanFeldmanNBA) May 10, 2016
Curry followed up his superb 2014-15 MVP campaign with an even better one this season, shattering the three-point record he set last year by 116 and finishing with a whopping 402 treys. He led the league in scoring at 30 points per game to go along with averages of nearly seven assists and over five rebounds per game.
Curry’s incredible efficiency on such a high volume made his season even more special. He joined the 50/40/90 club by shooting 50 percent overall, 45 percent from three and 91 percent from the free throw line. He also led the league in true shooting percentage, PER and RPM, among other advanced metrics.
With Curry running the show along with fellow Splash Brother Klay Thompson and the do-it-all Draymond Green, the Warriors had the best offense in the league and hit well over 1,000 three-pointers on the season, a feat that's never been done before.
Curry unleashed his historic barrage right from the start, pouring in 40 points against the New Orleans Pelicans on opening night and then dropping 53 points against the Pelicans several nights later. He scored 40 points or more seven times during the Warriors' 24-0 start and 13 times for the season.
That includes three games with over 50 points and a three-game stretch at the end of February that saw him put up 42, 51 and 46 points. That 46-point effort may not have been his highest-scoring game of the season, but it was his most iconic performance, as he hit 12 three-pointers and buried a deep game-winner to beat the Oklahoma City Thunder in overtime:
Those 12 three-pointers tied Kobe Bryant and Donyell Marshall for most three-pointers in a game in NBA history.
Curry put the finishing touches on his MVP campaign with a 37-point effort in the Warriors' 72nd win, which ruined the San Antonio Spurs' perfect home record. Then in the final game of the regular season, Curry scored 46 points against the Memphis Grizzlies as Golden State notched the record-breaking 73rd win.
Curry’s Warriors are currently facing the Portland Trail Blazers in the second round of the postseason. While ankle and knee injuries kept the MVP on the sidelines for a good chunk of these playoffs, he returned with a vengeance in Game 4, scoring 17 points in overtime to lead the Warriors to victory.
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Stephen Curry’s historic overtime performance
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