OAKLAND, Calif. — Stephen Curry is the first unanimous NBA MVP, earning the award for the second consecutive season on Tuesday after leading the defending champion Golden State Warriors and setting a number of records.
The Golden State superstar is the 11th player to be voted MVP in consecutive seasons and the first guard to do so since Steve Nash in 2006. Curry received 1,310 points from the 130 voters from the U.S. and Canada.
He was followed in the vote by the San Antonio Spurs’ Kawhi Leonard, the Cleveland Cavaliers’ LeBron James and Oklahoma City Thunder teammates Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant. Curry’s teammate Draymond Green was seventh.
Curry is the first two-time winner in franchise history, and Wilt Chamberlain, in 1960, is the team’s only other winner. After winning its first championship in 40 years, the Warriors took that success even further, finishing with a record 73 wins in the regular season — one more than the Chicago Bulls in 1995-96.
In a stunning overtime performance on Monday night, Curry showed exactly how he can take over a game in a matter of seconds. He returned from a sprained right knee to score 40 points — and 17 in overtime — in a 132-125 win at the Portland Trail Blazers to put his team up, 3-1, in the Western Conference semifinals.
“I figured that he’d find his stroke and make a few shots but I mean that was, that was crazy,” said Steve Kerr, who was voted the coach of the year last month.
Curry will be presented with trophy on Tuesday afternoon at Oracle Arena before trying to close out the series against the Trail Blazers at home on Wednesday night.
With that jaw-dropping long-range touch from way, way back and dazzling ballhandling, Curry made a record 402 3-pointers after no player had previously even hit 300 in a season. He averaged a league-high 30.1 points per game to go with 6.7 assists and 5.4 rebounds. He also led the NBA with 2.1 steals a game while shooting 50.4 percent from the field — 45.4 percent from 3-point range and 90.8 percent from the foul line.
From the start of the season, Curry vowed to take his game to another level — and did he ever. Now, all that matters to Curry is staying healthy to lead the Warriors to another title.
“The reason Steph is as good as he is because he can score from anywhere,” Kerr said. “If you take away the 3 he can penetrate and hit the floaters or get to the rim.”
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