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NBA Awards Watch: Final MVP Pick For 2014-15

By Gerald Bourguet

Dec 6, 2013; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Rockets shooting guard James Harden (13) drives the ball on a fast break during the first quarter against the Golden State Warriors at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 6, 2013; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Rockets shooting guard James Harden (13) drives the ball on a fast break during the first quarter against the Golden State Warriors at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports /
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Jan 21, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors center Andrew Bogut (12), guard Klay Thompson (11), and forward Draymond Green (23) celebrate after the Warriors /

Narrative

Don’t lie to yourselves or anyone else; the NBA’s MVP Award is very much driven by narrative. We’re looking for the player having the best season, not just the best player. Otherwise Michael Jordan and LeBron James would have owned the last few decades with names like Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O’Neal and Tim Duncan sprinkled in here and there.

The phrase I keep hearing associated with Curry’s MVP case is, “He’s the best player on the league’s best team.” I feel like that’s selling Curry short; his narrative is more along the lines of “He’s the supernova that ignites one of the greatest teams in NBA history.”

If the Warriors reach 67 wins, they’ll join nine other teams in NBA history to accomplish such a feat. Of those nine other teams, seven of them went on to win the championship. The only two that did not were the 1972-73 Boston Celtics (lost in the Eastern Conference Finals) and the 2006-07 Dallas Mavericks (lost in the first round to the “We Believe!” Warriors).

Harden’s MVP narrative? The guy has a really cool beard, he looks like a black King Leonidas, he carried the Rockets this year, he plays defense now and he likes to stir the pot. Kind of pales in comparison right?

Even if the Dubs disappoint and fall short of a title this year, the MVP Award is a regular season award. What matters is that behind Curry’s stellar play, the Dubs have set a franchise record in wins; they’ve won the Pacific Division for the first time in nearly four decades; they’ve put up a historic +10.1 point differential, and they locked up the top seed in the West weeks ago.

The Warriors are the NBA’s top ranked defense and its No. 2 defense. No offense to the Rockets (sixth in defensive rating and 11th in offensive rating), but they definitely take a backseat even with Harden carrying his team. While valiant, it’s hard not to get caught up in one of the best regular season teams we’ve ever seen. That narrative definitely fuels the fires of the MVP case Chef Curry is cooking.

Advantage: Curry

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