Gamesmanship or sincere admiration? You be the judge.
If the Los Angeles Lakers could vote for the NBA's MVP, there would be a clear winner. And it wouldn't be LeBron James or anybody else. There's only one answer.
Steph Curry.
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Lakers forward Kyle Kuzma on Tuesday joined LeBron in essentially naming Curry this season's NBA MVP when speaking with the media.
"We're playing, in my mind, the MVP of this year in Steph," James told reporters Sunday night.
Curry this season certainly played at an MVP level. There's a fair argument this was the best season of his 12-year career, even better than his previous two MVP seasons.
Golden State Warriors
The Warriors superstar won the scoring title by averaging a career-high 32.0 points per game, shattered Warriors records along the way and climbed up the NBA's all-time ranks in doing so. Curry answered every question that naysayers might have had against him. He did it all, putting his team on his back on a nightly basis.
Now, his reward is facing LeBron and the rest of the defending champion Lakers on Wednesday night in the play-in tournament.
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Curry might have to play like a MVP to beat a healthy Lakers squad and get a little help from his friends.
No matter if Curry wins the MVP or not, the players have spoken. This was Steph's season, no matter what the voters say.