Larry Bird. Michael Jordan. LeBron James. And now Stephen Curry.
The Golden State Warriors superstar doesn’t need additional attention or accolades to prove his place in the current basketball hierarchy. He’s the reigning MVP, the best player on the league’s best team, and is shepherding a new generation of NBA fans with his unmatched ability to net remarkably difficult shots with ease.
When it comes to his lasting legacy, though, this latest achievement will loom especially large. Curry has been named The Associated Press 2015 Male Athlete of the Year, joining Jordan, Bird, and James as the only other basketball players to ever win the award in its 85-year history.
[Curry’s] amazing year, in which he won an MVP, led to Golden State to its first title in 40 years and helped the Warriors get off to a record-setting start this season earned him The Associated Press 2015 Male Athlete of the Year.
Curry finished first in a vote by U.S. editors and news directors, with the results released Saturday. He joined LeBron James, Michael Jordan and Larry Bird as the only basketball players to win the honor in the 85 years of the award. Curry beat out golfer Jordan Spieth, who won two majors, and American Pharoah, who became the first horse since 1978 to win the Triple Crown.
This is surely just the latest on a lengthening list of accomplishments for basketball’s best player. And if Curry and the Warriors continue playing at the level they are now for the season’s remainder, it may very well include another award from the AP come this time next year.
