When the Los Angeles Lakers drew the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Western Conference play-in tournament, LeBron James had one player on his mind.
James told reporters that Warriors star Stephen Curry was his pick for league MVP in 2020-21, a less-than-conventional choice this year despite Curry’s stardom but high praise ahead of Wednesday’s high-stakes matchup.
Curry won his second NBA scoring title by finishing the season with 32.0 points per game over 63 games. He shot 42.1% from 3-point range and added 5.8 assists, 5.5 rebounds and 1.2 steals per contest.
“I mean, just look at what he’s done this year,” James said of Curry. “I don’t know anything else if you’re looking for an MVP. If Steph is not on Golden State’s team, what are we looking at?
“We get caught up in the records sometimes,” he continued. “We get caught up in the, ‘OK, who has the best record,’ instead of just saying who had the best season that year. And Steph has had, in my opinion, the best season all year.”
Curry’s performance in 2020-21 was an important return to elite form after he missed most of 2019-20 with a broken hand.
James admitted he thought Curry, the 2015 and 2016 MVP, was a long shot at best to win the award.
“Obviously I don’t think Steph is going to get it ...That’s another conversation,” James said. “But in my eyes, he’s played the best basketball all year round.”
Jokic tipped to win
Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic is thebetting favourite for the award, and 76ers’ Joel Embiid believes he has a case, too, despite missing a chunk of the season with a knee injury.
