May 9, 2016

Stephen Curry to be named MVP for second straight season

PORTLAND, Ore. -- Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry will be named NBA Most Valuable Player for a second straight season, according to league sources.



Sources told ESPN.com that the widely anticipated honor for Curry is scheduled to be made in the next few days, with the Warriors poised to return to Oakland, California, on Tuesday after Monday night's Game 4 in Portland.

Curry has been an overwhelming favorite to repeat as league MVP since the Warriors' record-setting start to the season, when they went 24-0 -- surpassing the previous record by nine wins -- en route to a 73-9 mark that eclipsed the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls' 72-10 record as the winningest single season in NBA history.

Curry is bidding to become the first unanimously chosen MVP in NBA history; Shaquille O'Neal and LeBron James each fell one vote shy of unanimous selection in 2000 and 2013, respectively.

Many points, few minutes

This season Stephen Curry became the first player in NBA history to average at least 30 points a game while playing less than 35 minutes per game.

PPG MPG
2015-16 Stephen Curry 30.1 34.2
2014-15 Russell Westbrook 28.1 34.4
1977-78 George Gervin 27.2 34.8
--ESPN Stats & Information
Curry has given himself a chance at sweeping the balloting thanks to a season as statistically dominant as any guard has ever assembled.

He's the first player in league history at any position to average 30 ‎points per game in less than 35 minutes per game over the course of a full season.

Curry also shattered his single-season NBA record for made 3-pointers with 402 -- his ‎previous record was 286 last season -- while also joining Steve Nash and his coach, Steve Kerr, as the only players in league history to s---t at least 50 percent from the floor, 45 percent from 3-point range and 90 percent from the line in a single season.

The 28-year-old will be the 11th back-to-back MVP in the NBA's 70-season existence. James was the last to achieve that feat with the Miami Heat in 2012 and 2013.

http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/1...e-player-second-straight-season?ex_cid=espnfb