Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry was named the National Basketball Association’s Most Valuable Player today and is the first player in league history to win it via unanimous vote, team officials said.
Curry, 28, who also was named MVP last year, led the Warriors to an NBA-record 73 wins this season and shattered the league record for three-pointers made in a year with 402 — he held the previous record set last year at 286.
Curry, who led the league with 30.1 points per game and steals with 2.14 per game, is the 11th player in NBA history to win back-to-back MVP awards and the second in Warriors history, following Wilt Chamberlain in 1959 and 1960.
A panel of 130 sportswriters and broadcasters and an NBA.com fan vote all chose Curry with their first place votes. Kawhi Leonard from the San Antonio Spurs finished second for the Kia NBA MVP award, while LeBron James from the Cleveland Cavaliers finished third.
The Warriors are currently playing in the Western Conference semifinals against the Portland Trail Blazers. Curry, coming off a two-week hiatus with a knee injury, led the Warriors to a crucial Game 4 overtime victory on Monday night with 40 points, including an NBA-record 17 points in the extra five-minute period.
Golden State leads the best-of-7 series 3-1 and has a chance to close out Portland on Wednesday night.
A news conference about the MVP award is scheduled for 2 p.m. today on the Warriors’ home court at Oracle Arena, where Curry, head coach Steve Kerr and general manager Bob Myers will speak.
Dan McMenamin, Bay City News
