5 reasons Kawhi Leonard will be the next NBA MVP
By Tom West
5. Stephen Curry can’t be any better, can he?
Curry’s range seems limitless most nights. He can make shots from the kind of range that most other players dare attempt, doing so with ornate pull-ups off the dribble to make his effortless baskets even more hard to believe. But after a while watching Curry, they become routine. He’s just that good. He’s Stephen Curry and without a doubt he deserved to be the NBA MVP this year.
And this is where Kawhi Leonard has a great chance to surpass him for the award next season.
Can Curry really be any better? This season has been such a tantalizing, non-stop high, leading to the stat line of 30.1, 6.7 assists, 5.4 rebounds, and a league-best 2.1 steals per game with 50.4/45.4/90.8 shooting splits and an absurd new record of 402 made threes (5.1 a night) after no one had made more than 286.
What a surprise, the previous record, which has now been obliterated beyond belief, was Curry as well.
Essentially, as remarkable as Curry is and as high as his chances to win another MVP will be, some of the “wow factor” that rightfully surrounded his performance this year may not be quite the same in 2016-17. At the very least, it will be expected rather than simply unbelievable. The explosion to new range, 30.1 points per game, and a 31.5 PER shocked everyone so much at first that a MVP award almost seemed inevitable. But unless he takes another startling step forward, perhaps Leonard being the one to elevate his game next will give him his turn to take the hardware.
Now, going on from what must surely be Curry’s limit, the limit of the Warriors themselves is another factor that could make Leonard the next MVP.
Next: 4. The Warriors won't win 74 games