Could Steph Curry Win NBA Finals MVP Regardless Of Celtics-Warriors Outcome?
A player on the losing team hasn't won MVP since 1969
The brilliance of Golden State sharpshooter Steph Curry is atop the short list of reasons why the Warriors still are in the best-of-seven NBA Finals against the Boston Celtics.
And it's caused some to think that Curry, regardless of how the rest of the series plays out, is deserving of claiming his first-ever NBA Finals MVP award. A player on the losing team has not won the NBA Finals MVP award since Jerry West did so for the Los Angeles Lakers in 1969.
"... The other thing we can say at this point, is Steph Curry should be the NBA Finals MVP win or lose," The Athletic's John Hollinger wrote after Curry scored 43 points on 14-for-26 shooting from the field in Game 4. "He's been that much better than everyone else."
Hollinger isn't alone with those thoughts either. It's been a talking point on various talk shows throughout the last week.
"You could legitimately argue that Curry has already won NBA Finals MVP just four games into this series," NBA's Michael Wright wrote while ranking his Finals ladder.
It's true.
Curry scored 24 of his 43 points in the second half while hitting seven 3-pointers in a signature Game 4 performance. Boston would have claimed a 3-1 series lead without him. Admittedly, the Warriors received help from others -- Andrew Wiggins, Klay Thompson -- in that Game 4 victory, but that hasn't been a theme in the Finals. Curry essentially has had to do it on his own. Fortunately for the 'Dubs, the generational point guard has done just that, averaging 34 points on 50% from the field and 49% from long range in the series.
Celtics stars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown likely will be the main players who take votes away from Curry, but their respective cases will only be relevant if Boston wins the title. Curry is a lock to win the award should the Warriors win the championship.
The betting odds at DraftKings Sportsbook indicate much of the same. Curry (-135) is the favorite with Tatum (+170) and Brown (6-to-1) the clear frontrunners for the Celtics. It will be interesting to see how those prices move depending on how Game 5 plays out Monday night. Tipoff from Chase Center is set for 9 p.m. ET.
