Steph Curry and the Warriors defied the expectations of many by battling through numerous injuries and a fiercely competitive Western Conference to earn a spot in the NBA play-in tournament, taking on LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers Wednesday.
James told reporters after Sunday's season finale that he believes Curry's remarkable campaign deserves MVP consideration. While Fox Sports 1's Nick Wright wouldn't give Steph his MVP vote, he did explain Monday why he does agree with part of James' comments on Curry.
"Steph did prove something this year, I think he proved more this year Joy, than he proved the last time he won the title in 2018, that year with Kevin Durant," Wright said on "First Things First." "I think this year he answered the question unequivocally, is Steph Curry by himself an automatic playoff berth? And the answer is yes, and you might say 'Well Nick, they're the eight seed, they barely got in, and we'll see about the play-in.'
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"Well yeah, but this team also played at a 48-win pace in the games he played in, they were 2-7 in the nine games he missed. They have no other elite or even very good offensive players on the entire roster, and Steph Curry was an offense unto himself, and last night or yesterday afternoon was a great example."
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Curry posted the best scoring average of his career (32.0) on the way to winning the scoring title, and put up numbers that nearly are on par with those he amassed in his two MVP seasons.
Golden State Warriors
The 2019-20 season, in which Curry was limited to just five games and the Warriors finished an NBA-worst 15-50, was the first time the Warriors missed the playoffs since 2011-12. That was Curry's third season in the NBA.
Klay Thompson's absence for the second consecutive season led many to write off the Warriors as unable to compete with the best teams in the West without the Splash Brothers together. But Curry playing most of the season and dominating offensively the way he did kept the Warriors afloat, and earned them a chance at securing a playoff spot.
Steph proved a lot of doubters wrong in leading the Warriors this far, and he'll have a chance to further add to his legacy when the Warriors visit Staples Center Wednesday night with the seventh seed in the West on the line.