3 things Stephen Curry must do to make a case for the Kia NBA MVP award for the 2021-22 NBA season
Last season, Stephen Curry led the league in scoring for the second time in his career while also finishing third in MVP votes. Curry had a wild season and did some things he hasn’t done, really ever. He played without any real elite players other than Draymond Green and dominated for the first time in his career.
Curry was once seen as a player who needed other stars to succeed. He needed Klay Thompson to be his running man and Kevin Durant to be the player that could carry the team when a defense only focused on him. All those narratives were put to bed last season as Curry carried a Golden State Warriors roster that had no business being in the playoffs, a game out from being the eighth seed.
Stephen Curry needs 142 three-pointers to surpass Ray Allen on the all-time 3-pointers made list 👌🏽
1. R. Allen 2,973 3's, 1300 games
2. S. Curry 2,832 3's, 762 games
3. R. Miller 2,560 3's, 1,389 games
(via @NBAonTNT, h/t @_Talkin_NBA) https://t.co/wS1PNq4aVp
Curry averaged 32 points, with 5.5 rebounds and 5.8 assists, while shooting 42% from three on 12.1 attempts. Curry had an insanely efficient shooting season while attempting the most threes per game in his career.
Curry's season was spectacular, and some of the performances and shots that happened last season were mind-melting. It was like watching a world-renounced painter create the most fantastic masterpiece with such little effort, making it look even more insane.
The Warriors team is better this season, but the team will go as far as Curry takes them, making him a good MVP candidate this season. These are three things that will help him get his third MVP award.
#3 Stephen Curry has to lead the league in scoring
This is possible for Stephen Curry, as he has already won the scoring title twice. This is such a big part because the most significant way Curry can impact his team is by scoring, and when he puts up a lot of points, his team will win.
Stephen Curry is pretty, pretty good at basketball. https://t.co/OfUycaCiUf
On top of that, he doesn’t put any crazy stats other than that. He is an elite playmaker, but his stats do not usually reflect that. He has averaged 6.5 assists in his career, which isn’t bad, but a lot of the passing creation comes from Green on the Warriors. Curry does other things to create, but because of how big of a star he has become, he often has all eyes on him when he has the ball.
Scoring is crucial for Curry, and he will most likely lead the Warriors in sorting once again. However, with the rise of Jordan Poole and the return of Thompson, Curry’s scoring averages could dip a little.
If Curry can find a way to maintain his scoring output while having a better team around him, he will indeed have a more serious case for the MVP award.
#2 Stephen Curry will need to lead the Warriors to a 5th seed, or higher
Last season, the Warriors were the eighth seed in the Western Conference, but they ended up missing the playoffs because of the new play-in tournament rules. If Curry is to have a more serious cause for the MVP, it would depend on how good the Warriors team is as a whole.
Stephen Curry plays basketball tomorrow https://t.co/oodSC6JnMk
The Warriors could defiantly push to be a lock-in playoff team, sixth seed or higher, with how the roster looks now. Curry will likely continue his magic last season, Green looked more engaged and energized on defense, and Thompson's return will be much needed. The Warriors also know that Andrew Wiggins is now COVID-19 vaccinated and should be available for every game this season.
The team also has young talent such as Poole, who has exploded in the preseason this year, along with three lottery picks over the last two drafts in James Wiseman, Moses Moody, and Jonathan Kuminga. Along with that, these three players are assets that can be used in a trade to get another star to join Curry on the Warriors if one comes available via trade.
The Warriors should be a good team this season, and if they are, Curry will be leading them. Usually, to win an MVP, your team has to be at least a title-contending team, and the Warriors have the chance to be that.
#1 Could Stephen Curry take more threes?
This is kind of a radical idea, but what would happen if the best shooter ever to play basketball just took 15 threes a game. Stephen Curry has already changed the way NBA teams already fundamentally run, and what if he just did it again, but to the extent that no other team could copy it.
No one does it like Stephen Curry 😤
https://t.co/r161amn8yP
Curry already took a career-high in threes last season, taking 12.7 threes a game, and shot 42% on them, which is below his career average of 43%. So what if Curry increased the volume that he shoots threes to the likes that no one has seen before and still makes over 40% of them. If he took 15 threes a game and just made 40%, he would make six threes a game for 18 points.
How would a defense even deal with that? The likely hood of this happening is pretty slim, but the logic makes sense, and if anyone could have success with it, Curry can. This would give the Warriors a massive advantage, as teams would need to guard Curry in such a pressing way, opening other opportunities for others. Curry would still easily reach 30 points, and the Warriors could have the most high-powered offense ever.
If Stephen Curry can break all the records he has already set for three-point shooting, leading to the Warriors winning, he will likely again finish in the top three in MVP voting, if not win the award.