Stephen Curry made history during the 2015-16 season as he became the first player to be unanimously named NBA MVP. He led the Golden State Warriors to a record 73 regular-season wins and averaged a league-high 30.1 points, 5.4 rebounds, 6.7 assists, 2.1 steals (also league-high) on 50/45/90 shooting.
Curry got all 131 first-place votes that season and silenced his critics with his second-straight MVP award. Moreover, he pulled off what Shaquille O’Neal and LeBron James could never do.
Back in 1999-00, Shaq was a lock to be named MVP. He ended up winning the award but was one vote shy of becoming the first unanimous MVP in the history of the game.
CNN’s Fred Hickman was the only writer who didn’t vote for the Big Diesel and gave the nod to Allen Iverson instead, something that still bothers him up to this day:
“Fred Idiot Hickman. I hate him. I don’t need to talk to him. There’s nothing to apologize about. Because he destroyed history being a [expletive],” Shaq said back then.
O’Neal averaged 29.7 points, 13.6 rebounds, and 3.03 blocks per game on 57% from the floor while leading the Los Angeles Lakers to a 67-15 record and, eventually, the NBA Championship.
Then, LeBron James came pretty close to pulling it off in 2012-13. He averaged 26.8 points, 8.0 rebounds, and 7.3 assists per game and led the Miami Heat to a 66-win season.
That season, LeBron James received 120 out of the 121 possible first-place votes (1,207 points). Who got the other? New York Knicks’ star Carmelo Anthony, who had quite a strong season but shouldn’t have been considered ahead of James. In fact, Anthony finished in third place.
“It was probably a writer out of New York who didn’t give me that vote. We know the history between the Heat and Knicks so I get it,” James said back in the day.
We get that you may not like one player or one team in particular. But, c’mon man. If you’re given the chance to vote for something that matters, don’t let your feelings get in the way of acknowledging greatness.
Credit: Sports Kingdom.
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