Steph Curry is the MVP of the Warriors
Steph Curry is the MVP of the Warriors
As you know, the Warriors are currently fighting for their third consecutive title and for the fourth in five years. Without a doubt, we can call this team one of the greatest in history, especially if they beat the Raptors to complete the three-peat. This is a hard thing to do and a good argument is that no one did it since 2002 when the Lakers won their third championship in the Kobe-Shaq era. That’s how you know how special this moment is.
There are many reasons for the Warriors’ success but I want to talk only about one – Stephen Wardell Curry. Steph has been with this team since 2009 when he entered the league. He was given little chances and he battled with many injuries but, somehow, the front office trusted him. In time, he got better and better and in 2015 when he won his first MVP award it seemed only right. Since, that year, the Warriors won three titles and they are on the verge of winning the fourth. However, Steph Curry doesn’t have any Finals MVP Award. In 2015, Andre Iguodala got that while in 2017 and 2018, they were won by Kevin Durant.
I don’t want to contest that but I want to talk about the impact of Steph Curry and how important he is. On the court, everyone can see how great he is. He makes threes look like free throws, he has an amazing ball handling and an underrated capacity to get to the basket. Very often he gets double-teamed so he gets his teammates free and he finds them with very good passes. He has a very high basketball IQ and a strong mentality which helps him to not give up.
However, today I want to speak more about his off-court impact. After losing game 1 in Toronto, the Warriors bounced back and they won with 109-104, after a great shot made by Andre Iguodala. Taking this into consideration, the team trained by Steve Kerr became again the favorite for winning the NBA title. Besides the game itself, what made an impression on me are the statements of Steph’s teammates.
For example, Andre Iguodala said: “At the end of the day, I’ve never seen such a good person get so much backlash from his peers. It’s kinda sticking to me. I’m trying to do whatever it takes to protect his legacy”. Then, Klay Thompson also talked about his superstar teammate: “He’s been a great teammate for 8 years, even a better friend. You root for guys like Steph Curry to be the MVP because he doesn’t take any shortcuts, he works extremely hard, he’s a family man and he’s just a prime example of what you want your leader to be. Huge ambassador to the community and, hopefully, you know, we can go down as one of the greater backcourts that went down to play. Obviously, it’s been a very beneficial partnership for us and couldn’t imagine playing with any other point guard because we have such great chemistry. We know each other families. I’m just thankful to share the court with him because he’s such a selfless, amazing competitor and teammate.”
These are speaking for themselves really. It just shows how respected and beloved Steph is by his teammates. Also, it says something about his character, selflessness, and motivation to make others better. I believe that these statements are a true legacy to the person and leader that Steph is and that’s why I believe he is the most important person and the most responsible of the Warriors’ success. It is not easy to lead a team with Durant, Draymond, Klay, and Cousins. But he managed to do it and he does this at least since 2015.
Basketball is more than the 48-minutes game that we see on the TV. The hours of work, the discussions behind the closed doors, the bonds that are being made, all of these are just a part of what it means to build a championship team. So if there’s one person who deserves the most credit for this, it is him. That’s why Steph Curry is the MVP of the Warriors.
