Golden State Warriors: 5 Midseason Takeaways

4. Stephen Curry Is The MVP Favorite

Steph Curry topped the MVP category in our midseason rendition of NBA Awards Watch, but even if you missed that one, this should be no surprise. Kawhi Leonard, Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and LeBron James are all having fantastic seasons, but Curry is still the undisputed frontrunner for MVP.

In case Golden State’s recent 2-2 stretch had you second-guessing Curry’s MVP candidacy, let’s not forget that he’s averaging 30.0 points, 6.4 assists, 5.3 rebounds and 2.1 steals per game. He’s also on pace to join the 50-40-90 club, shooting 51 percent from the floor, 45.1 percent from three-point range and 90.5 percent from the foul line.

Not only that, but Curry is perhaps the most enjoyable player in the NBA to watch as well. It’s absurd to look at the stat sheet and see that he’s knocking down 45.1 percent of his gaudy 10.7 three-point attempts per game, but it’s incredibly exhilarating to watch on a nightly basis as well.

The Curry-Draymond Green pick-and-roll is unstoppable now thanks to Green’s intelligent playmaking, but it all starts with Chef Curry’s ball handling skills and his ability to pull up off the dribble at any second to launch a three.

Between his devastatingly efficient spot-up shooting and his pull-up threes that no other human being should take, Curry lives up to his reputation as the greatest shooter in NBA history — and that’s before you consider he’s on pace to obliterate the NBA’s single season record for made threes of 286 (his own record) with 376.

Curry is an improved defender, he’s averaging nearly seven more points per game this season than he was last year when he won MVP and he leads the league in scoring, point differential (+15.1), total win shares (9.5), made three-pointers (193), Player Efficiency Rating (32.1) and true shooting percentage (67.9 percent). Yeah, he’s still the MVP.

Next: No. 3