NBA: A way-too-early deep dive into the 2021-22 MVP award race
By Kyle McKee
NBA MVP odds: Stephen Curry +700
Next up on the list is Steph Curry. Steph received a lot of buzz last season for what I mentioned before about KD. Curry, without Klay and an older Draymond Green, balled out with a team of average players. He was so impressive, that despite missing the playoffs, Curry finished third in last season’s MVP voting, including five first-place votes.
In order for Steph to win the MVP, the Warriors need to get back into real title contention. They need to finish the year, at least in the top-five of the Western Conference. General Manager Bob Myers and head coach Steve Kerr are hoping that second-year pro James Wiseman can develop into a real role player this year. The Warriors are also hoping rookie lottery picks Jonathan Kuminga and Moses Moody’s impressive summer league play can carry over to the regular season.
As long as their big three of Steph, Klay, and Draymond are healthy, the Warriors should be a playoff team. The fact is though, that since they lost KD in free agency, the Warriors haven’t been able to stay healthy.
However, they’ll enter training camp with everyone on the roster fully healthy, which is a great sign for Warriors fans, and a scary sight for everyone else.
Steph may not be as ridiculous as he was last season, especially down the stretch of that season where he was just cooking, but if the Warriors get back to title contention, then Steph will be in the MVP conversation, being the best player on the team.