Kia Race to the MVP Ladder: No need to fret over Stephen Curry's MVP pace

[Amara 5 / 1,957]

The numbers suggest he’s fallen off a bit from the record pace he set last season, that Stephen Curry is not the same threat he was before Kevin Durant’s arrival in a Golden State Warriors’ uniform.

Interpreting those numbers, though, can get you caught up in minutiae that doesn’t allow one to see the true beauty of what Curry, the two-time (and reigning) Kia MVP, and the Warriors have going this season.

Everyone understood the sacrifice needed to accommodate another player with the letters MVP on his resume (i.e. Durant), and no one had a bigger adjustment to make than Curry. He became the face of a franchise and one of the NBA’s biggest stars over the course of the past three seasons.

Having to share that space with Durant, not to mention fellow All-Stars Klay Thompson and Draymond Green, requires a certain kind of star to make it work. And the fact that the Warriors are just three games off the pace of their record-breaking regular season of a year ago is a testament to the work Curry has done this season.

Warriors coach Steve Kerr called the expectations on Curry, the Western Conference Player of the Week after averaging 31.8 points, 5.5 assists and 4.5 rebounds during the first week of the New Year, “outrageous.”

Curry and the Warriors are off until Monday’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day showdown with Cleveland at Oracle Arena. That will be yet another game where the expectations on Curry will surely be outrageous, given he and the Warriors' recent struggles against the Cavaliers.

Still, Curry is trying his best to keep a healthy perspective on this season. He acknowledged his shooting struggles and made it clear that he comprehends where he’s at right now. But also that the Warriors’ season will be a long one -- long enough that his numbers can still get where many expect them to be.

“It doesn’t matter what the numbers say,” Curry recently told ESPN.com. “If we’re winning, and I’m doing my job, my teammates know I’m doing my job. That’s all I’m worried about.”

who do u think should get mba mvp

[EJ. 638 / 12,695]

For the NBA MVP, I am kinda stuck between Lebron (even though I absolutely hate him), and Russell Westbrook. I am leaning more towards Westbrook because he is performing phenomenal without KD.