Kevin Durant is long gone. Klay Thompson won't return from reconstructive surgery on his knee until the All-Star break at the earliest. Andre Iguodala was traded in a salary dump, and Shaun Livingston seems likely to hang it up.

Needless to say, the Golden State Warriors are now a shell of the team they've been not just since Durant shocked the basketball world by signing in the Bay Area three years ago, but also since Steve Kerr took over on the sidelines in 2014-15. Just because it underwent so much roster churn over the offseason, though, hardly means Golden State will completely abandon this season the identity that's propelled it to dynastic success.

Why? The presence of Steph Curry, who ESPN projects second in MVP voting this season behind reigning winner Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks.

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The Warriors' superstar received 63 points in ESPN's preseason forecast of expected MVP contenders, behind Antetokounmpo's 90 points. The Los Angeles Lakers' LeBron James, Philadelphia 76ers' Joel Embiid, and Lakers' Anthony Davis round out the top-five of vote-getters. Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets and defending Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard of the LA Clippers finished sixth and seventh in the voting, respectively. The Portland Trail Blazers' Damian Lillard, Houston Rockets' James Harden, Brooklyn Nets' Kyrie Irving, and Clippers' Paul George also were among the players listed in voters' top-three candidates.

Curry won back-to-back MVPs in 2015 and 2016, becoming the league's first unanimous winner three years ago after leading Golden State to a historic 73-9 regular-season record. Playing without Durant for the season's entirety and Thompson its majority, Curry figures to put up some of the best individual numbers of his Hall-of-Fame career.