The 2020-21 NBA MVP race has been quite strange to follow. For a while, it seemed like either LeBron James would narrative his way to the award or Joel Embiid would get it by nature of the Philadelphia 76ers getting the 1-seed, and more recently, the voting populace has seemed to realize that Nikola Jokic is obliterating everyone. As a result, the Denver Nuggets’ big man has earned favorite status, and unless he gets hurt (a fate that befell James and Embiid), he’s seems primed to win the award.
Still, there is seemingly some skepticism over whether Jokic deserves it (he does!) or if he’s just the last man standing following injuries to the aforementioned two players (he is, but he’s the MVP for reasons other than that!). It’s led to a vacuum where other guys have tossed their hats into the ring, with Steph Curry getting some love in the MVP race recently due to the fact that he is making magic happen for the Golden State Warriors whenever they play.
Whether he is the MVP or not is for other people to decide, but in Curry’s eyes, the award is his. The two-time league MVP appeared on Rex Chapman’s podcast and made clear that while he might not win the award, he deserves it for his play this year.
On “The Rex Chapman Show,” @RexChapman asked @StephenCurry30 if he’s this year’s MVP.
“I gotta be,” Curry said.
This month, he’s averaging 40.8 PPG, 7.2 3PG, 6.2 RPG, 4.4 APG on 54.9/50.3/90.9 shooting.
Full episode drops tomorrow on YouTube! Subscribe: https://t.co/u2HiJHuiaG pic.twitter.com/fyh14qjdp4
— Alex Kennedy (@AlexKennedyNBA) April 21, 2021
Curry is averaging a league-best 31.4 points per game this year while connecting on 43.1 percent of his 12.1 threes per game. He has been out of his mind this year, and in recent days, he has seen his odds of being named league MVP skyrocket, even though Jokic is still the favorite.