In a recent statement, Lebron James revealed that he believes Stephen Curry to be the Most Valuable Player (MVP) for the National Basketball Association’s (NBA) 2021 season.
As long-time rivals, James has been watching Curry play in the NBA since the current Golden State Warriors point guard was drafted in 2009. Since then, Curry has gone on to win three championships and earn two MVP awards, which he won in 2015 and 2016.
James stated that, although everyone was counting Curry out this year due to several setbacks this season, he has still come far in the game and his career.
The two-time MVP missed nine games at the beginning of the season and has had teammate Klay Thompson out all season, which has been a huge disadvantage for the team as a whole. Despite this, Curry has still beaten several records while leading the Golden State Warriors to the NBA play-in tournament.
Curry set the record for most threes made in a month, second-most three-pointers in NBA history, and in Sunday’s game he beat out Bradley Beal for the biggest scoring title of the season. He reached the number one spot by having 31.8 points per game, while Beal finished with 31.4 points.
James and Curry will face off this Wednesday at 10:00 p.m. ET. The team that wins this play-in game will be one step closer to going to the NBA Playoffs.
While the official date for the MVP announcement has not been made, the NBA usually publishes it by the end of June.