Stephen Curry Named NBA’s Clutch Player of the Year
Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry has been named the NBA’s Clutch Player of the Year, beating out Chicago Bulls guard DeMar DeRozan and Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander for the honor. This marks the first time Curry has won the award, which recognizes the player who performs best in “clutch” situations, defined as the final five minutes of games within a five-point margin.
Curry, 36, had a stellar season, finishing with the most clutch points scored (189) in the league and leading the Warriors to the most clutch games (48) of any team. His ability to perform under pressure and make crucial shots in close games has been a key factor in the Warriors’ success this season.
“You’ve got to be able to deal with failure,” Curry said. “You have to be OK with the shot you miss, and have a short memory with it. I don’t know if anything clicked other than you know how much time you’ve put into the game and with that comes deserved confidence of, ‘OK, I’m ready for whatever moment you find yourself in, or whatever shot you need to take.’
Curry received 45 first-place votes and a total of 298 points, narrowly beating out DeRozan who had 34 first-place votes and 272 points. Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets came in fourth, followed by Jalen Brunson of the New York Knicks in fifth place.
Despite his individual success, Curry expressed disappointment in not being able to lead the Warriors to the playoffs this season. However, he remains optimistic about the team’s future and is determined to come back stronger next season.
“The sad part was just missing three wins to get out of the play-in and have yourself in a playoff series,” Curry said. “There’s some tweaks, we know. When you lose, you have to look yourself in the mirror and say, ‘What can we do to get better? What holes can we fill?’ And, thankfully, we have some time to figure that out. We’re going to figure that out over the summer.”
Summary:
Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors has been named the NBA’s Clutch Player of the Year, beating out DeMar DeRozan and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander for the honor. Curry’s ability to perform under pressure and make crucial shots in close games has been a key factor in the Warriors’ success this season. Despite his individual success, Curry remains determined to lead the Warriors to the playoffs next season.
