NEW YORK, United States (AFP) – Golden State superstar Stephen Curry was named the NBA’s Most Valuable Player for the second straight year yesterday following his record-breaking contribution to the Warriors’ historic season.Curry, who returned from injury on Monday to score 40 points in Golden State’s overtime win over the Portland Trail Blazers, earned the MVP award in a landslide, sweeping all 131 first place votes to earn 1 310 points, a statement said.
It is the first time in the National Basketball Association’s 61-season history that a player has been the blanket first pick for the award, the league said.
San Antonio Spurs star Kawhi Leonard was a distant second with 634 points while the Cleveland Cavaliers’ LeBron James was third with 631 points.
Curry is the 11th person to win back-to-back MVP awards and joins an illustrious club which includes the likes of James, Michael Jordan, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Wilt Chamberlain, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird.
The award caps a remarkable year for the 28-year-old guard, who played a starring role as Golden State compiled a 73-9 record, surpassing the 1995-1996 Chicago Bulls’ 72-win campaign for the most victories in the regular season.
Curry’s personal statistics for the season rewrote the record books.
He shattered his own record for most three-pointers, which had stood at 286, with 402. He also led the NBA scoring charts with an average 30.1 points per game and extended his own record for scoring at least one three-pointer in consecutive games to 152.