In a league that is catered towards greatness, the Golden State Warriors find themselves viewed in a different light as compared to typical NBA dynasties.
Though most great teams are praised for their longevity and multiple years of greatness, the Warriors are different due to how they were assembled and because of just how overwhelming they are. With point guard Stephen Curry playing at an all-time rate to open the 2018 campaign, teammate Andre Iguodala believes he still won’t receive awards, namely the MVP, due to how dominant the team is as a whole. Following from The Athletic’s Tim Kawakami:
“Ask the NBA, man,” Iguodala said. “It don’t matter. They say we’re bad for the NBA … I hope Steph wins every award he possibly can. He’s the best point guard in the league. But he ain’t going to get it because they say we’re too good. It is what it is.”
Though there is no doubt Curry still gets recognition as perhaps the best point guard alive, Andre Iguodala is right in that it will be more difficult for Steph, or any other Warrior for that matter, to win an individual award.
When greatness of their level is expected coming off back to back titles, it sometimes goes unrewarded, though it will be hard to ignore Curry if he keeps this up for the entirety of the regular season. Teammate Kevin Durant also gave his two cents on the issue, agreeing with Iguodala that context plays a major role in who comes away with MVP.
Yeah, I think so, if you’re just looking at what’s happening on the basketball court,” said Durant. “Obviously, narratives play a big part. I think the MVP nowadays is the up-and-coming star in the NBA award.
“But it’s got to take somebody to do something like this [Wednesday night] to kind of break through and change that narrative. Players that have been in the league for a while, that have won a couple of MVPs, I’m sure the voters tend to overlook them — not maliciously, but just the fact that they’re looking for the next player.
With two regular season MVP awards already under his belt, it’s becoming expected of Curry to perform at this all-world level night in and night out. Though if Curry keeps up the torrid pace he is currently on, the Davidson product may just end up adding a third MVP to his trophy case by season’s end.
