The Race Is Over; Stephen Curry Is the 2009-2010 ROY

Jose SalviatiMar 29, 2010

Much like the horse that made a mad rush out of the last turn to take a surprising victory away from the favorite, Stephen Curry has edged Tyreke Evans by a nose to become this year's ROY.

Case closed. End of story.

The ROY award has been prematurely handed out twice already this season. First it was Brandon Jennings who was touted as the top rookie seven games into the season. Dropping a double-nickle tends to get people excited. The outcry to hand him the award right then and there was deafening. Some level-headed writers encouraged patience, but the BJ for ROY noise continued. Then Jennings hit the wall and the clamor stopped.

In fact, Jennings hit the wall hard. The wall seems to have fallen on him actually. Look at his month-by-month point averages:

October: 20.5
November: 22.1
December: 16.7
January: 14.2
February: 10.7
March: 13.4

Remember the scene in The Wizard of Oz after Dorthy lands in Oz and we get our only view of the witch Dorthy's house plasters? Just two feet peering out from under the house, twitching. That's Brandon Jennings and the NBA's grueling schedule is the house. David Stern is Toto. (No real reason to make Stern the yapping lil dog, just a funny mental image.)

I have no doubt Jennings will be a solid contributor in the Association for years to come. His talent is undeniable, but we have to remember that Sleepy Floyd once dropped 51 in a game. Jenning's 55 was impressive but we have yet to see if that's his potential, as in something we will see again, or his peak.

While Jennings came out of the ROY gate with a full head of steam, Tyreke Evans played the roll of the tortoise to Jennings hare. He watched with awe, like the rest of us did, as Jennings dropped shot after shot against the Warriors. Evans knew he had a great view of Jennings backside in the ROY race, but he just kept plugging away. Slow and steady wins the race, doesn't it?

Evans pace has in fact been amazingly consistent. His month-by-month point averages really highlight the tortoise in Evans:

October: 12.7
November: 20.3
December: 22.1
January: 20.7
February: 20.1
March: 19.6

Evans was slow, steady, and consistent and heads started to turn. When you can make heads turn while playing in the middle of nowhere you are doing something. No disrespect to Arco Arena or Sacramento; those who have been there know, however, it really is in the middle of nowhere.

Where Jennings enjoyed a season-high 55, Evans has only reached a high of 34. Surprisingly, however, both have only three games where they went for 30 or higher. Jennings just did it was flash, Evans with a yawn.

The tortoise and the hare seemed to be jockeying for position, each one reaching out their nose towards the finish line when it came into view. It was apparent about a month or so ago that Evans, the tortoise, had the stronger legs and was deemed the favorite. Then, a third option emerged.

This was no hare, in fact he stumbled out of the gate. He was no tortoise either, although he has been consistent of late. This was some hybrid, morphed combination of both.

This third option was developing the consistency of Evans with the flash of Jennings. He seemed to be the best of both players with a smile and personality to boot. Stephen Curry, the kid who would no doubt be told to get to class by an over-zealous hall monitor if he strayed too close to a high school, was making a late push in the ROY race.

Curry's month-by-month point averages show a slow start and late season consistency:

October: 13.0
November: 9.8
December: 13.5
January: 19.1
February: 21.5
March: 20.2

Where Jennings has his 55, Curry can point to his triple-double (36, 13, 10). Where Evans can point to his consistency, Curry can point to the last three months when his minutes were increased and the team became his to run. In those three months he has been every bit as consistent as Evans.

Curry stands apart from the others in a few key areas. First, the kid is exciting. He has that star quality that draws you to him. When the ball is in his hands and the Warriors are on the run, he is fun to watch. He moves at a speed just a tad faster than everyone else.

The ROY award sholdn't be given to the most exciting player however. It's a statistical award as much as anything, so we have to throw in the second area that Curry has edged away from the others. He has scored more than 30 six times. All in the last six weeks.

For whatever reason it took Curry a few months to acclimate to the NBA game. It's clear the kid is now acclimated. It's also clear to everyone outside of Sacramento and Milwaukee that the ROY award is his. This race is won not by the tortoise or the hare but by the kid with the NBA pedigree with Dwight Howard's smile, Magic Johnson's pizazz, and Steve Nash's jump-shot.