Stephen Curry The Most Valuable?

As many expected, Stephen Curry won his second consecutive and total NBA regular-season MVP award for the 2015-2016 season.

He was on a team that broke the regular season win total, eclipsed 400 made threes in a season, and played a well-rounded game of basketball entirely predicated on skills that were taught and not inherent. He’s the Golden Boy, like Derek Jeter or Peyton Manning. His family is amazing and he’s endearing. He’s who Naismith envisioned playing basketball, not athletic specimens with natural basketball gifts like LeBron, but “regular” guys who learned the game and who worked on their ball handling and shooting.

For comparisons sake, let’s say Stephen Curry compares to Jerry West, Russell Westbrook to Oscar Robinson, and LeBron James to Michael Jordan. Kawhi Leonard to a fortunate Grant Hill, and Paul George to Tracy McGrady. Chris Paul to Isiah Thomas, Kevin Durant to George Gervin. Different eras of course, but the point is that while Michael Jordan is considered the best player to ever play the game, Jerry West is still “The Logo”. Which is to say, while LeBron may be the best player in terms of overall talent, Curry is the face of the league.

LeBron has been to five (and counting) straight Finals appearances and six overall, leaving teams flailing for success without him. Curry has been to one NBA Finals series (and counting) and his team still beats teams thoroughly without him.

When Jordan left the Bulls for his retirement season in 1993-1994, the team had a measure of success in reaching the playoffs but lost in the second round. Consider their failure to reach even the conference Finals without him, Jordan was the most valuable player in the league for seven years; he led his team to three straight NBA championships before his retirement and three straight after.

West only won one NBA regular season MVP and one championship but helped lead his team to nine appearances alongside Wilt Chamberlain. Despite his revolutionary playing style that resulted in a high scoring clip alongside his passing, rebounding, and defensive contributions, his team experienced similar success (one championship in one appearance three years after West’s retirement) without him behind the play of Rick Barry.

He’s the first player-coach-executive the league has ever seen. While the Warriors are a superb collection of talent. LeBron is to the Cavaliers what Jerry Seinfeld is to Seinfeld.

Stephen Curry is a revolutionary player who is intrinsically valuable because of what he brings the game from his play on the court and from a marketing standpoint. He is. It’s only… LeBron James, by comparison, is still the most valuable player in the league in general, because anybody watching the Cavaliers saw the team struggle to win without him with two superstars. He’s the first player-coach-executive the league has ever seen. While the Warriors are a superb collection of talent. LeBron is to the Cavaliers what Jerry Seinfeld is to Seinfeld.

For the Warriors, Draymond Green is the heart, soul, and brains of the team on the court, Steph Curry is more or less just the fulcrum around which everything operates … their best all-around player. Hypothetically, replace Green with James, and Kyrie Irving with

Hypothetically, replace Green with James, and Kyrie Irving with Curry, and the Cavs still might have come out on top of the conference this year. The Warriors with Irving, Klay Thompson, LeBron, Andre Iguodala and playing in the Kerr system? They would be in virtually the same position, if not a better one.

LeBron and Curry’s reputations might switch. Curry would be an offensive weapon to that the world would wonder under but if his team fails to reach the conference Finals, or loses in them? Would his reputation become like LeBron’s, tainted by failures to win against teams with superstars who had better supporting cast?

Look at who else the 2011 Mavericks managed to defeat in those playoffs: a young Oklahoma City Thunder team with Durant and Westbrook who reached the Finals the next year; a Los Angeles Lakers squad with Kobe Bryant; Andrew Bynum, and Pau Gasol playing; and the Portland Trail Blazers with Lamarcus Aldridge, Nicolas Batum, Wesley Matthews, and Brandon Roy. They held the Blazers and Lakers to 88 points a game and won a close-fought 4-2 series against the Thunder. Playing LeBron who hadn’t been to the Finals since getting swept by the San Antonio Spurs while flanked by Drew Gooden and Daniel Gibson as leading scorers (12.8 and 10.8 points per game respectively) was a challenge but they’d been up to those.

Dallas Mavericks coaches Rick Carlisle (still coach of the Mavericks), Terry Stotts (current coach of the Portland Trail Blazers), and Dwyane Casey (current coach of the Toronto Raptors) have all had teams hovering in the top 10 in defensive efficiency rankings in their careers and presented LeBron with a challenge of efficiency with their defensive schemes.

Unlike the Spurs in 2007, the Mavericks wanted LeBron to be a passer. Especially from the high post where the size difference of his defender didn’t let him drive because of fouls or being stripped bringing the ball down. Like all teams in the NBA they dared him to shoot the three. /

Passing worked to an extent, but the shooters were one-dimensional specialists. Dirk Nowitzki and Tyson Chandler outplayed Chris Bosh, Udonis Haslem, and Joel Anthony and defensively this group was exposed as well. Wade would to have to put up thirty or more a game, while not a 3 point shooter and Chandler was in the paint.

Altogether, this is why LeBron launched it from three so often but, after the first game, he was missing, a lot. In reality he was playing to his main strength, his basketball IQ. The lack of space to drive due to roster limitations made him shoot the three or pass. Or hit the contested jumper. His performance, though based on him trying to be a point guard and remain efficient, was damning on his in-game reputation: he showed his frustrations in a battle of attrition, he needed to work on his jumper and become better on the perimeter by bettering his ball handling, he needed a post game, he needed to work on free throws, he needed to be aggressive and assertive on both sides of the ball especially when his team needed him the most. He needed to be the best player the world has ever seen.

The next year he worked on all of that and won. The 2011 Finals shouldn’t be looked at as an aberration by LeBron because he was on a star-studded team in a big market, or because he left a city and team that loved and needed him and lost, it’s because at that time he lacked a set of tangible and skills he needed to reach the pinnacle of the highest level and the Mavericks exposed that. He made himself better after that. He’s a consistent three and free throw away from completing the checklist.

Curry is fortunate to be playing with the roster and coach he has now, because it makes him look more valuable. But it is spectacular and sensational that he has the type of range and handles to give his defenders fits the moment he touches the ball. Sometimes I wonder, what if Curry was on any other team besides the Spurs and Clippers perhaps, with a different roster, different coach, and different situation. Would Stephen Curry be as successful?

We still know who the real MVP is.

Off-the-court, Curry is revolutionizing the NBA brand by bringing in a lovable face to envelop his prolific basketball talents. He’s a superstar that has the casual NBA fan, and more importantly the kids, raving. This is where he’s more valuable than the ultra-cocky King James, whose off-the-court controversies have significantly changed NBA fans perception of him, and whose business ventures are largely seen as self-serving. Plus, no one reigns forever without the public eventually wanting someone else to ascend the throne. Humans fear change, but they deplore monotony.

More from King James Gospel

LeBron is suffering from circumstances of his legacy, not because his skills on-the-court aren’t the most valuable in the league. Aside from the occasional hiccup in his jumper and his streakiness on free throws, he has the ultimate package. He’s one of the most outspoken players in the league about world issues and formed a duo with Kobe Bryant that was necessary to progress the game of basketball beyond borders and provide a voice about social issues.

LeBron’s value is invaluable as one of the NBA’s ambassadors of the game. But there are more kids athletically similar to Curry or not an NBA phenom, savant, and mystic like LeBron James. The aesthetics and story, the relatability of a Steph Curry are more appealing than a LeBron James. His daughter is the darling of America. But we know who the best basketball player in the world is, who the real MVP is. Don’t we?

Who do you think the “real” most valuable player in the NBA is?