At the ripe old age of 36, Stephen Curry continues to be at the top of his game. And while one might think that a 10-time All-Star, four-time champion, and two-time MVP might be satisfied with his voluminous list of accomplishments, the greats never truly are. Curry remains an all-time great player, clearly still cemented within his prime. Despite our preconceived expectations regarding the way age is supposed to affect athletes, there are little to no signs indicating that Curry is slowing down anytime soon.
It’s a long season, but there’s no reason to believe that there’s anything fluky about the Warriors’ early success this season. Of course, there’s nothing fluky about Curry’s level of play. Curry has clear footing within the MVP conversation today, and there’s an abundance of reasons to believe that will continue as the season wears on. Below is a list of three specific reasons why Steph Curry will remain a constant in the 2024-25 NBA MVP discussion.
3 Reasons Steph Curry Will Remain in the MVP Conversation
The Warriors are For Real
At 10-2, the Warriors find themselves fully entrenched in the race for the top-seed in the Western Conference. Despite already overcoming a three-game injury absence from Curry, as well as a few minor injury nuisances from other players, the Warriors are still atop the Western Conference. Additionally, the Warriors aren’t just inflating their record by beating up on bottom-feeders. In their past five games alone, the Warriors have taken down a ‘who’s who’ of playoff contenders: Memphis, Dallas, Oklahoma City, and Boston.
With no second star to speak of, the 2024-25 Warriors have still managed to get off to one of their best starts in the Steve Kerr era. Every other time the Warriors started the season at a similar pace, they’ve found themselves playing in the NBA Finals. Whether they add a second star at the trade deadline or tweak the roster only at the margins, remaining a top three-seed in the Western Conference will be paramount to supporting Curry’s MVP case.
Lack of Star-Power in Supporting Cast
Speaking of potentially tweaking the Warriors roster, for better or for worse, as things currently stand, there is no one vulturing Curry’s volume, touches, or production. And while that has thus far not led to jump off the page numbers for Curry—averages of 22.7 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 6.4 assists—it’s likely only a matter of time until those stats undergo some juicing.
Similar to Nikola Jokic in Denver, Curry’s supporting cast is not made up of star-level players but rather high-end productive role players. Buddy Hield has been a revelation during the early season, Jonathan Kuminga remains explosive, and Andrew Wiggins is enjoying somewhat of a bounce-back season, but in all likelihood Curry will be the only 20+ point scorer for his team.
Barring some sort of midseason trade, Curry will have to remain the heavy focal point of Golden State’s offense. And while that may not lead to bonkers video game numbers quite like the ones Jokic is putting up—29.7 points, 13.7 rebounds, and 11.7 assists—they’ll be noteworthy enough to garner both attention and praise.
Additionally, it’s worth noting that Curry has a very real chance of being the oldest player to put up a 50/40/90 shooting season (at 47.9% field goal shooting currently). If Curry’s scoring average ticks up, even just to 25+ points, and the Warriors continue on to a top three-seed in the Western Conference, his MVP case will be rock solid.
Narrative-Based Award
Lastly, while many may deny it, the MVP is a narrative and moments-based award. It’s about numbers and impact, but it’s also about the eye test. It’s about how many memorable moments a player creates in a season. It’s about momentum.
From a narrative perspective, Curry has a lot of things working to his advantage. Firstly, after failing to make the playoffs last year, and losing in the second round the year before that, there’s not many who still believe that the embers of the Warriors’ dynasty still burn. An argument can be made that even Klay Thompson no longer believes in the dynasty of the Warriors, demonstrated by his departure to Dallas. If Curry can lead the Warriors to a top-three seed—without Thompson, and without a second star—and get people around the league believing in the Warriors again, it will go a long way in supporting Curry’s MVP case.
Secondly, it helps that Curry just led Team USA to a gold medal during the 2024 Summer Olympics. Olympic basketball may have nothing to do with NBA basketball, but there’s no denying that the image of Curry taking over late in the gold medal game against France is fresh on the mind of NBA fans. Steph Curry is still riding the momentum of his performance in Paris, and while that performance may belong just outside his 2024-25 NBA MVP case, it surely can’t hurt his case. Every time that Curry drills a cold blooded three-point dagger and hits the ‘night-night’ celebration, NBA fans and analysts alike are going to reminisce back to perhaps the most iconic showing of that celebration during the Paris Olympics. All this will help carry Curry’s MVP momentum throughout the 2024-25 NBA season.
