Stephen Curry
Though it was Kevin Durant putting up the gaudy numbers early on in 2016-17, it turns out that the reigning two-time MVP is still pretty good at basketball.
After an uncharacteristically ho-hum start, Steph Curry is now averaging 25.9 points, 5.8 assists, 4.0 rebounds and 1.8 steals per game while shooting 48.9 percent from the field, 40.1 percent from three-point range and 92.9 percent from the foul line.
Curry ranks second in scoring, assists and steals on the Warriors, and though he probably won’t be three-peating as the league MVP, it’s worth mentioning that he leads the league in plus/minus by a WIDE margin at +13.5. Second is Draymond Green, at +11.8.
Throw in his NBA-record 13 three-pointers in that historic game against the New Orleans Pelicans and it’s pretty clear that while some sacrifice has been necessary, like Klay, he’s capable of going off on any given night:
All THIRTEEN of @StephenCurry30's Record-Breaking Threes vs. New Orleans! #NBAHistory #DubNation pic.twitter.com/MKyB76DTLD
— NBA (@NBA) November 8, 2016
Aside from that 46-point night, Curry has topped 30 points six times, and since the team’s underwhelming 4-2 start, he’s bumped his numbers up to a team-leading 26.9 points per game on .505/.417/.948 shooting splits.
It’s too early to make any unnecessary rulings about whether the Warriors are Curry’s team or Durant’s team, but given the way they’ve not only co-existed, but thrived, isn’t it possible what makes the Warriors so dangerous is that they belong to four different top-15 players?
Grade: A