Getty Golden State Warriors point guard Stephen Curry speaks at a press conference where he was awarded the NBA Most Valuable Player at ORACLE Arena on May 10, 2016.
In the past five years, Golden State Warriors icon Stephen Curry has won his second and third NBA title, upped his career All-Star nods to seven, been named first team All-NBA for the third and fourth time, and won his second scoring title. Curry has also cemented his spot in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and officially graduated from “Baby-Faced” status.
Not that it matters to anybody, but one thing that has escaped Steph since the end of the 2015-2016 season has been capturing a third regular season MVP award. When Curry was awarded his second MVP trophy at 28 years old, many figured that he’d have a third one by now, but due to guys like Russell Westbrook (2017), James Harden (2018), Giannis Antetokounmpo (2019, 2020) and Nikola Jokic (2021) – not to mention a lost 2019-2020 campaign – that hasn’t come to fruition.
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No. 30 is already off to an electric start this fall – as are the Dubs at 4-0 – and NBA fans and experts are taking notice. Last week, Warriors Hall-of-Famer Chris Mullin dropped a bold Curry-based prediction for the team’s game against the Los Angeles Clippers.
When Steph went for 45 points that night, Mullin’s prediction almost came true. Now, ESPN NBA analyst Tim Legler is taking his Nostradamus efforts to Curry court.
‘Steph Curry’s Going to be MVP. Write it Down Right Now.’
GettyNBA Commissioner Adam Silver presents Golden State Warriors point guard Stephen Curry with the 2014-2015 Kia NBA Most Valuable Player trophy.
During Wednesday’s edition of Keyshawn, JWill & Max, the crew got to talking about the Warriors’ hot start to the season. Legler wasn’t afraid to get bold, and not even into November basketball, he’s ready to crown Steph as the 2021-2022 NBA MVP.
“Steph Curry’s going to be MVP. Write it down right now.”
@LegsESPN stakes his claim for who will win NBA MVP this season.
(📍 @MyStraightTalk)
Legler and the rest of the talking heads broke down the Warriors roster, which, according to Legler, may end up helping Steph’s case for more end-of-season hardware. Now, if the Dubs had Klay Thompson and a productive James Wiseman in the fold right now, the “Steph carrying the team” view probably wouldn’t be as prevalent. With guys like Jordan Poole, Damion Lee, Kevon Looney, Andrew Wiggins, and Andre Iguodala, plus Curry’s longtime teammate Draymond Green however, as some other main faces in the rotation, Legler likes the argument for Steph.
“Legs” states matter-of-factly that Steph will “average around 30 (points)” and that Golden State will finish as a top-four seed in the Western Conference.
“That spells MVP to me, with this roster,” Legler said.
Who Is Steph’s Top Competition for MVP This Season?
GettyKevin Durant of the Brooklyn Nets and Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors prior to a game on December 22, 2020.
Though Dub Nation will surely like Legler’s confidence in their franchise player, what can’t be overstated is that with only four games played thus far, the Warriors are a mere 4.8% of the way through the regular season. While Steph will likely remain one of the top MVP contenders through the season, barring injury, he no doubt has plenty of competition.
Among the slew of players with the current best odds to win the 2021-2022 MVP are Antetokounmpo (+450), Curry (+500), Luka Doncic (+550) and Kevin Durant (+600). Rounding out the top-10 are Joel Embiid (+1200), Jokic (+1400), Harden (+1600), LeBron James (+1800), Damian Lillard (+2500) and Trae Young (+2500).
Jokic is the reigning MVP, but notably suffered a right knee contusion during the Denver Nuggets game against the Utah Jazz on Tuesday. James meanwhile is set to miss his second consecutive game on Wednesday due to an ankle injury.
If Curry can stay healthy and the Warriors can keep winning, his third MVP may be added to the mantle next year.
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