You know the MVP race is tight when saying Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry should be the league MVP is considered a hot take. This is exactly what basketball legend Magic Johnson said and believes.
It’s hard to deny Steph Curry from being the NBA’s MVP! He is the #1, #2, and #3 option for the Warriors and is STILL dominating!!
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) April 19, 2021
Johnson is no stranger to making self-evident tweets, but this is one instance that Golden State fans could appreciate his thoughts, per Marcus White of NBC Sports. Magic is not just some talking head who makes outlandish statements just because he wants to be heard. He is a three-time MVP winner and while the game is vastly different now from when Johnson played, his words have weight in this topic.
This season, Curry is averaging an incredible 31 points per game on an impressive 49.1 percent from the field and 42.7 percent from deep for the Warriors. This point average is even better than what he had in his unanimous MVP season back in 2015-2016.
With a depleted Warriors roster, Curry has had to have an even bigger role on offense. Even though teams know the Warriors' game plan, they still cannot stop Curry. It's gotten to a level where teams might consider using the box-and-one zone defense the Toronto Raptors unleashed in the 2018-2019 finals.
Golden State's situation this season is not too different from what transpired in that NBA Finals series. Injuries rocked the lineup and Curry had to do more heavy lifting than usual.
MVP voting is not an exact science. While stats are important, narratives seem to take precedent. It is also possible that voters experience a type of fatigue in choosing the same names year after year.
There would be few better stories than Curry carrying a banged-up team to the postseason, but not many. Regardless, Curry deserves a seat at the table when it comes to the discussion of who should be the NBA MVP this year.
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