OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) – His voice cracked first. Then, his eyes got red. Finally, Stephen Curry cried.
He had felt like this in the past. When he barely received any scholarship offers out of high school. Or when some questioned whether his game could translate from tiny Davidson College to the NBA, or those times sitting in a doctor’s office searching for answers on how to fix his troublesome right ankle.
Curry could let it all out and laugh now. It was time to celebrate.
The Golden State Warriors point guard won the NBA’s Most Valuable Player award Monday, a high point of a young career already full of overcoming obstacles.
Curry received the trophy in a packed hotel ballroom below Golden State’s downtown Oakland practice facility, shaking his head in disbelief as he was announced as the winner of the league’s top individual honour.
“There were obviously good times and bad times. Times I wanted to shut it down,” Curry said. “It just made me feel like how blessed and thankful I am to be in this position.”
Curry received 100 of 130 first-place votes for a total of 1 198 points from a panel of 129 writers and broadcasters, along with the fan vote on the NBA’s website. James Harden had 25 first-place votes and 936 points. Cleveland’s LeBron James, a four-time MVP, got five first-place votes and 552 points.
The Oklahoma City Thunder’s Russell Westbrook (352 points) finished fourth and New Orleans Pelicans big man Anthony Davis (203 points) was fifth.
