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During the Golden State Warriors‘ November 24 bout with the Philadelphia 76ers, Seth Curry had an opportunity to do something he had never accomplished before. Namely, score more points than his all-world big bro — Warriors star Stephen Curry — in a head-to-head matchup.
He came closer than ever to finally doing it, too. With less than two minutes remaining in Golden State’s 116-96 win, Seth was still the game’s high scorer with 24 points. However, Steph was subsequently allowed to get his sixth triple before the game’s clock read 0:00, which pushed his total from 22 to 25. And Seth was less than pleased when it happened.
“I was a little upset at the end of the fourth,” Seth said post-game, via NBC Sports Bay Area. “It was my first time actually getting a chance to outscore him and then he gets a wide-open three at the end of the game when it’s all said and done to eclipse me by one point. So I wasn’t happy about that.”
For his part, Steph didn’t even know what he had done. “He reminded me right after the game,” the elder Curry later said. “I didn’t know the stakes were so high on that shot.”
Although Steph won the matchup and his team took the game, the three-time NBA champion still gave Seth his props. “That dude is playing unbelievable basketball, and it’s fun to watch,” he said.
Little Bro Is Still Balling Out
The Sixers may be scuffling due to a combination of injuries and health and safety protocols, but a lot of things are still going right for the team. Tyrese Maxey has played like an All-Star in Ben Simmons’ absence. Georges Niang has been one of the league’s best bench players. The team boasts a top-five offense despite all of the games missed by Joel Embiid and others.
Of all the positive developments that have occurred this season, though, Seth Curry’s age 31 explosion may be the big surprise of the bunch. Steph’s little bro has been ripping the nets for a while, of course, but what he’s doing this year is on a whole other level.
Frankly, it has been Steph-like at times.
Through 17 games, Curry is averaging a career-high 15.9 points per contest while shooting over 50% from the field and 41.1% from three-point range. He is currently second on the team in win shares with 1.2.
Curry has been so good, in fact, that he’s getting some love for a major year-end award.
B/R: Curry a ‘Sleeper Bet’ for MIP Award
In a piece identifying 12 NBA sleeper bets to consider throwing money on right now, Bleacher Report’s Dan Favale namechecked Curry as a sleeper bet for the league’s Most Improved Player Award. And when you look at where he came from and where he is now, he makes total sense as a candidate.
After battling for years just to secure a spot in the league, Curry now finds himself on the precipice of joining a pretty exclusive club. Wrote Favale:
He’s on pace to become the sixth guard to average more than 15 points per game on a true shooting percentage north of 64. His potential company: Stephen Curry, James Harden, Reggie Miller, Steve Nash and JJ Redick.
As it stands, Curry isn’t the only Sixer in the running for the award. Per FanDuel, Maxey is currently at +3500 as a MIP pick, which puts him in the top 10 from an odds standpoint. However, there’s absolutely a case to be made for Curry. And at +13000, he may be the best intersection of a longshot with a huge potential payout that could legitimately bring home the trophy
He does have a bit of history working against him, though. As noted by Favale, only Darrell Armstrong has won the award in an age-30 season or later.
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