SAN FRANCISCO — Steph Curry added to a dusty trophy case Thursday night as the Western Conference Finals’ MVP.
What comes with that is the NBA’s inaugural Magic Johnson Trophy, named after the Los Angeles Lakers’ legend.
“This is special,” Curry said upon receiving his prize from former teammate Shaun Livingston.
And what may be surprising is that Curry’s trophy case is not as filled as you might suspect for a Warriors legend who’s closing in on his fourth NBA championship.
This is the first year that the NBA is awarding a trophy to conference-finals MVPs, and the Larry Bird Trophy will go to whoever emerges from the Eastern Conference finals (Boston leads Miami 3-2).
By virtue of Thursday night’s wire-to-wire, 120-110 win over Dallas in Game 5, Curry and the Warriors hoisted the Oscar Robertson Trophy on their 3-year-old home court of Chase Center.
As the clock expired, Curry twirled a towel and jumped in celebration from the Warriors bench, while yellow streamers rained on joyous fans.
Curry’s 15 points were his fewest in a close-out win in any of his previous playoff-series victories. He was 5-of-17 from the floor and 2-of-7 on 3-point attempts, with nine assists and three rebounds.
Now he’ll hunt for a grander trophy.
”We know this isn’t the ultimate but we’ve got to celebrate it,” Curry said to the crowd.
It’s really cool that the greatest shooter basketball has ever seen, a friend, future hall of famer, and great person, @StephenCurry30 won the first ever Magic Johnson Western Conference Finals MVP award!! Congratulations! 🏆
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) May 27, 2022
Johnson, in a congratulatory tweet, said: “It’s really cool that the greatest shooter basketball has ever seen, a friend, future hall of fame, and great person, @StephenCurry won the first ever Magic Johnson Western Conference Finals MVP award!!”
In the Warriors’ three NBA Finals triumphs, MVP honors did not go to Curry, but rather Andre Iguodala in 2015 and Kevin Durant in 2017 and ’18.
Of course, the Larry O’Brien Trophy is Curry and the Warriors’ ultimate goal once the NBA Finals get underway for the first time in San Francisco, at the Chase Center next Thursday night.
“Steph’s done incredible things in the Finals,” Klay Thompson said. “I’m pretty sure he leads with 3-pointers made in the Finals. He always brings his best. He just knows where to get his shots off, take over a game, lead the team.”
Curry’s first grasp of that NBA championship came in 2015, when he won the first of consecutive league MVP honors (and the accompanying Maurice Podoloff Trophy).
An eight-time All-Star and this year’s MVP for that game, Curry’s been a perennial All-NBA selection since 2013, and he made second-team this season.
It’s not as if an actual prize exists to represent the greatest shooter in NBA history. Well, other than a No. 30 Curry jersey.
He punctuated Thursday night’s win with a three-pointer from the right corner with 2:02 remaining, seconds after missing an off-balance, one-handed jumper. The Warriors led 118-102, and after one more trip down court, Curry headed to the bench with a pat on the back from coach Steve Kerr, amid a standing ovation from the crowd clad in yellow T-shirts, with 97 seconds until the NBA Finals.
Curry’s scoring line night didn’t reach double digits until 4:38 left in the third quarter, with that jumper giving him 11 points and the Warriors a 22-point lead.
The Mavericks responded with a 17-3 run and closed within 92-84 in the third quarter’s final minute.
Curry got serenaded by the crowd’s chants of “MVP! MVP” to shoot free throws in the final minute before halftime.
His teammates could state a reasonable case as MVP candidates, too.
Klay Thompson would be the sentimental choice, not for Thursday’s 32-point show (with eight 3-pointers) but as a triumph symbol of his two-year comeback from knee and Achilles injuries. Andrew Wiggins’ defense on Dončić sent him happily into his first NBA Finals, and Jordan Poole certainly contributed to his own first trip. Kevon Looney’s interior presence was a pleasant surprise, and, of course.
Earlier in the second quarter, Curry needed one of his ankles got taped after rolling it while defending Dallas star Luca Dončić. Curry had only five points at intermission, but he had seven assists on the Warriors’ 24 field goals. He’s more than a scoring sensation.
This series opened with Curry scoring 21 points but also making a huge impact with 12 rebounds (10 on defense). He scored 32 and 31 points in the ensuing two wins, dropped in 20 points before getting pulled in the Game 4 defeat in Dallas.
Curry’s numbers in the Warriors’ previous close-out wins in the Western Conference finals: 2015, Game 5 vs. Houston: 26 points, six assists, eight rebounds
2016, Game 7 vs. Oklahoma City: 36-8-5
2017, Game 4 at San Antonio: 36-6-5
2018, Game 7 at Houston: 27-10-9
2019, Game 4 at Portland: 37-11-13
Source: www.mercurynews.com