Golden State Warriors: Who Is The Real MVP?
Stephen Curry was undeniably deserving of the 2015-16 NBA MVP award. The question is, who is the real MVP of the Golden State Warriors?
2015-16 was one of the most historically significant seasons in NBA history. The Golden State Warriors won a record 73 regular season games, including 34 road victories—another record—and Stephen Curry became the first unanimous MVP in league history.
Curry deserved each of the MVP awards he won in 2014-15 and 2015-16, but recent developments imply another player is the true MVP.
It seems blasphemous to even think that another player could be the MVP of the Warriors. Curry just put forth one of the greatest individual seasons the NBA has ever seen, and that was established in some of the most basic of numbers.
At 30.1 points per game on shooting marks of .504/.454/.908, Curry became the first player in NBA history to average at least 30.0 points on a slash line of .500/.400/.900 or better.
Yet, as both the 2015 and 2016 NBA Finals have proven, the Warriors can win at the highest level without Curry playing at his. That’s no indictment on Curry—and anyone who thinks it is should rethink their stance—but instead a light being shined on who truly makes the Warriors special.
It does, of course, start with Curry.
The Closer
When a game is on the line, the Golden State Warriors know exactly who to turn to. Whether he’s been ice cold or red hot for the previous 36 minutes, the single best fourth quarter player in the NBA is Stephen Curry.
Curry’s role as the Warriors’ closer rightfully earned him the 2016 NBA MVP award.
In a Kobe Bryant-esque manner, Curry can take over in the clutch against even the tightest of defensive pressure. He can create with his handles, score in traffic, and is the greatest off-the-bounce shooter in NBA history.
When Curry touches the ball during the closing moments of the fourth quarter, there’s a genuine assumption that he’s going to make the shot.
When a player is that dangerous in the closing minutes of a game, it’s very easy to call them the team MVP. Some like to poke holes in their MVP status, however, during games that they aren’t necessarily the reason the game is close entering the fourth quarter.
The reality is, closing out a victory is one of the most difficult things to do in any sport, and Curry is the best at doing so in the NBA.
The Defensive Anchor
The Golden State Warriors often gamble defensively. Whether it’s a strip steal or a play in the passing lanes, the perimeter players feel comfortable taking chances against any caliber of opponent.
The reason Golden State is so comfortable in doing so: Draymond Green will be there to make up for any potential mistakes.
Green, who was named to the All-Defensive First Team, is a defensive juggernaut. Green faced 16.4 field goal attempts per game—second in the NBA, and a sign of his 1-to-5 capabilities—and held opponents to 39.4 percent shooting from the field.
Offensively, it was Green, and not point guard Stephen Curry, who led the Warriors in assists per game.
Green also posted the best average +/- in the NBA—yes, every player in the NBA—at +13.2 during the 2015-16 regular season. During the 2016 NBA Playoffs, he’s posted the best average +/- of any player on the Warriors at +7.3.
Green also had the best net rating—points scored per 100 possessions minus points allowed per 100 possessions—in the NBA at 18.9, and has the best net rating on the Warriors in the playoffs at 11.6.
Based on the advanced metrics, as well as the Warriors’ 0-2 record without him—small sample size, I know—Green is the Warriors’ MVP. Or is he?
The Real MVP
Stephen Curry is the best closer in the NBA, and the two-time defending league MVP. Draymond Green is the most versatile defensive player in the NBA, and, from a statistical perspective, the most valuable player on the Golden State Warriors.
The reality is, the Warriors aren’t an all-time team, or even a championship contender, because of one or two players; the real MVP is the entire team.
When Curry and Klay Thompson combined for 20 points on 8-of-27 shooting during Game 1 of the 2016 NBA Finals, Shaun Livingston, Andre Iguodala, and Leandro Barbosa led the team to victory. When something similar happened in Game 2, it was Green who dominated on both ends.
With the Warriors in need of a big road win in Game 4, it was Curry, 38 points, and Thompson, 25, who took over.
Those three victories exemplify who the Warriors’ true MVP is. Curry, Green, and Thompson receive the accolades, but Iguodala was Finals MVP in 2015, and Barbosa, Harrison Barnes, Livingston and Anderson Varejao have all been extraordinarily clutch in different, but vital ways.
And that, no matter what the numbers may say, is the truth about the Golden State Warriors.
must read: Who are the Top 10 players in the 2016 NBA Finals?
There may be stars on the roster, but the Most Valuable aspect of this team, and the reason they’re a championship-caliber squad, is just that: they’re a team in every sense of the word.