Why the Golden State Warriors' Stephen Curry Is Still Leading the NBA MVP Race

The Golden State Warriors’ Stephen Curry has made a compelling argument to take home the NBA MVP trophy at season’s end. He's led his team to the best record in franchise history at this point of the season, and he plays the role of showstopper on most nights.

As great as Curry’s performance has been, there are other suitors who are trying to make a late run to snag the honor. Russell Westbrook has been the hottest of late with six triple-doubles in his past nine games, but he missed 14 games to start the season with an injured right hand.

James Harden has been consistent all season, as his numbers tend to focus more on the offensive side of the ball. He leads the league in points scored, but he also heads the categories of missed shots and turnovers.

LeBron James has come on the scene again, but it might be too little, too late to make his case. The Cleveland Cavaliers have finally figured things out and are making a run up the Eastern Conference standings.

In the 110-99 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Feb. 26, James stated his case against Curry. LeBron scored 42 points with 11 boards, while Curry had an off shooting night.

The MVP isn’t decided by one game, so let’s take a peek at why Curry is still the leader.

Curry Sets the Tone

Curry jumped on the scene early by playing into head coach Steve Kerr’s new motion-style offensive system and utilizing all of his tools. Not only was he sinking his three-point shots at will, he was dancing around with the excess room created by the movement.

Taking the national momentum created by starting the 2014 NBA All-Star Game and his 54-point performance at Madison Square Garden last season, Curry wasn’t going to fade away anytime soon.

In fact, Curry had his new Under Armour ad starring Jamie Foxx debut over All-Star Weekend. Let's take a quick peek.

Curry has expanded his abilities this season with a sleeker handle and better playmaking abilities. He awes fans with the way he can cut through defenses and finish near the rim or dish it off for an easy assist.

Against one of his competitors, Westbrook, Curry uses some solid dribbling to drive in for the floater.

Curry is so difficult to defend, because he gets his shot off quickly and can consistently score from anywhere on the court. He can stop and pop, drive to the rim or create halfway to the hoop over any big man.

Occasionally, he can even sneak in the dunk. In the 114-111 win against the Boston Celtics on Jan. 25, Curry went highlight reel.

His skill, popularity and the team’s winning percentage helped vault Curry into the top vote-getter at the 2015 NBA All-Star Game, surpassing LeBron.

Curry’s current line: 23.6 PPG, 7.8 APG and 4.4 RPG.

Digging a little deeper, Curry is showing off his wares by ranking first in steals and three-point field goals made. Per Basketball-Reference.com, he ranks in the top five in assists, points, free-throw percentage, player efficiency rating (PER), true shooting percentage, win shares, offensive box plus-minus and value over replacement player (VORP).

He is so confident with his shot, he doesn’t even need to see it fall down.

Making Team Better

The Warriors are a far better team with their creator on the floor. Per Basketball-Reference.com, Golden State is 13.3 points better with Curry on the court, and defensively, it’s a 5.5-point advantage.

Since he is such a dynamic offensive weapon, he helps the team, because opponents usually develop their defensive game plan around No. 30. More attention put on Steph means a greater opportunity is available for the other four Warriors on the floor.

Curry is also effective moving without the ball. He can free up the other Splash Brother, Klay Thompson, or any other floormate with his ability to be a floor magnet. 

Not only does the team have 35 double-digit victories, but it dominates the league with a plus-10.2 point differential.

He also leads the five-man starting group that is first in the NBA in net points.

With all of the success Curry is having, he will not get any major publicity from his coach. Per Diamond Leung of the San Jose Mercury News, Coach Kerr won’t do any promotion:

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"I think he deserves it, but I don't think it's our job to promote it," Kerr said Thursday after previously going only as far as labeling Curry a leading candidate. "We're trying to win games. We've got to a lot of work to do, so if (Houston general manager) Daryl Morey wants to run his own one-man campaign for James Harden, he can do that. That's fine. But we're focused on other stuff."

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Morey can do all the campaigning he wants to do, but Curry and the Warriors hold a 4-0 record against the Houston Rockets this season. All of the wins were double-digit victories.

Yes, Curry has a much deeper team than Harden this season. However, Curry has turned his team into an elite group, while Harden has improved the Rockets into a top-four playoff team in the Western Conference.

The Mercury’s Marcus Thompson II does a good job breaking down the voting using a different set of criteria: 

Curry has also improved his defense with the goal of being one of the best players in the Association. Instead of being an afterthought on the league’s highest defensive-rated team, he is now an asset.

He took on Coach Kerr’s challenge to get better and be able to guard point guards. Per Basketball-Reference.com, he is ranked in the top 15 for defensive rating at 100.2.

Finally, here is the coup de grace. Curry did his best magician act in the 106-98 win over the Los Angeles Clippers on March 8.

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