Whenever haters try to discredit Stephen Curry, they always mention his lack of Finals MVPs. Given that he’s never won one in their three championship runs, it’s perhaps the only ammunition that his haters have against him.
In fairness to Curry, his lack of Finals MVPs is not for his lackluster performance. It’s just that it’s hard to ignore what Kevin Durant did in their last two championships.
Speaking of their last two title runs, here’s how Curry and Durant performed in those series:
2017
Curry: 26.8points, 8.0 rebounds, 9.4 assists
Durant: 35.2 points, 8.2 rebounds, 5.4 assists
2018
Curry: 27.5 points, 6.0 rebounds, 6.8 assists
Durant: 28.8 points, 10.8 rebounds, 7.5 assists
As long as Durant is with the team, I don’t think Curry would win the MVP. Although Steph is the Warriors most important player, having KD makes the Warriors close to unbeatable.
If there’s a Finals series where Curry had a clear shot at the Finals MVP, it was in 2015. And frankly, he did have a case to win the Bill Russell award in that series.
Andre Iguodala won the Finals MVP award in 2015.
He was the X-Factor in that series as the Warriors were able to turn things around when Iguodala started and shadowed LeBron for the rest of the series.
His defensive presence was key to the Warriors winning three straight games after trailing 2-1. The way he somewhat made life difficult for LeBron was perhaps the determining factor why he won the award.
On the other hand, it’s not like Steph had an awful series. He averaged 26.0 points, 5.2 rebounds, 6.3 assists, and 1.8 steals. Comparably, Iguodala averaged 16.3 points, 5.8 rebounds, 4.0 assists, and 1.3 steals.
While Iguodala’s defense was a key factor in their championship, you could argue that if Steph’s offense went missing, the Warriors would’ve likely lost that series. Curry and Iggy were the two most important players for the Warriors in that series.
And although Iguodala’s defense on LeBon got the people talking, Curry’s steady offensive presence was also a great factor in their wins. With that in mind, I think it’s fair if Iguodala and Curry were named co-Finals MVPs.
