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Warriors star point guard Stephen Curry was handed the trophy as the NBA’s Most Valuable Player Monday in Oakland after people saw him shaking his head in disbelief as he learned about his nomination.
And many other people maybe shook their heads in disbelief as few of them gave him credit for his achievements. Curry’s size and frail looks worked against him since high-school when nobody risked granting him a scholarship. Moreover, countless coaches overlooked him and his hidden potential.
But on Monday he proved just about everybody that you can keep a low-profile and still be the best player out there. After all, he won over media’s sweethearts James “the Beard” Harden and LeBron “King” James.
“There were obviously good times and bad times. Times I wanted to shut it down. It just made me feel like how blessed and thankful I am to be in this position,”
a visibly emotional Curry said at the ceremony.
He also share a few tears with his father as he was delivering the speech for the league’s top honor an individual player can get.
About 129 experts and broadcasters were involved in the MVP vote, while only one vote came from the fan base. About 100 of 130 voters decided that Curry was the most suited to be MVP, 25 voters put their bets on James Harden, while only five voters expressed their confidence that the best MVP choice was (again) LeBron James.
LeBron James, who won the MVP award four times, raked 552 points, Harden 936, and Curry totaled 1,198. Oklahoma’s Russell Westbrook landed on the fourth spot, while Pelicans’ Anthony Davis finished the fifth.
As his family members were watching from the front row, Curry stepped on the stage along with his teammates, coach Kerr, and the club’s current GM Bob Myers. He found it hard to pull out a coherent speech as he was visibly struggling with emotions especially when he talked about his family.
He mentioned his 2-year-old child and his now-pregnant wife Ayesha, who was smiling back at him from a front seat. Yet, when he mentioned his father he couldn’t stop his tears from falling. He said that he hadn’t had it easy with a former NBA player “pop,” although a lot of people believed exactly the opposite.
Towards the end of his speech he didn’t forget to mention and thank every single teammate and staff member. He also expressed his gratitude towards the club’s former general manager who gave “a scrawny, little kid from a mid-major school” a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
With Curry on board, Warriors earned 67 victories and saw a skyrocketing rise on NBA’s ladder. LeBron even called him “the catalyst of that whole ship.” James said that he well deserved the award and showed no signs of distress over the loss.
And Curry did deserve it. He first had to struggle to grow out of his father’s shadow. Then he struggled to obtain a scholarship after finishing high school, but no one offered him one because he was too small according to NCAA’s standards.
Nevertheless, he managed to polish his own style and gradually morph into a professional point guard that could control the flow of the game without overpowering his opponents.
Image Source: KDH News
Deborah Nielsen
Deborah Nielsen never thought she could be a journalist and a good one, we might add. Having a strong passion for music, she started singing at an early age, but it was only in college that she formed her first band. Her music education won her a job as a news reporter at the local radio station as well as the chance of meeting her favorite artists. In 2013, Deborah took things forward by starting her own blog and contributing to various news related websites. Currently, she covers a broad area of subjects and topics from various fields.
