Handing out NBA individual awards after the first month of the season.
After a weird start to the NBA season, which many people are attributing to a new ball and new foul rules, we have nearly made it a quarter of the way through the season. While there’s still a long way to go, there are some strong candidates emerging for each of the NBA awards early on in the season.
Here are my current frontrunners for each individual NBA player award, starting with the most valuable player.
NBA MVP – Steph Curry, Golden State Warriors
Steph Curry is clearly the most valuable player so far this season. The Warriors have the best record in the league at 11-1, and Curry is averaging 28 points, 6 assists, and 6 rebounds a game on 45/40/95 shooting splits. Not only is his team winning, but he has the stats to back it up.
On top of Curry’s typical lofty offensive stats, he’s surprisingly getting it done on the defensive end as well. As I’m writing this, Curry is first in the NBA among point guards in defensive rating. While that number may be heavily impacted by the great defensive team around him, it’s still impressive that Curry seems to be having an under-the-radar great defensive season.
I personally believe Curry will maintain this level of play and win MVP at the end of the season.