Despite a pair of NBA titles and two regular-season MVPs, their is still one major hole in Steph Curry’s display case. During those two championship runs in 2015 and 2017, he watched worthy teammates in Andre Iguodala and Kevin Durant take home the Bill Russell trophy, and that happened again on Friday night after the Warriors swept the Cavs in Game 4 and Durant took home his second consecutive Finals MVP.
By all appearances, it seemed Curry could finally fill in the last remaining blank spot on his Hall-of-Fame resume, especially after his legendary Game 2 performance, during which he made a Finals record nine three-pointers, but the award committee apparently deemed Durant’s series-long dominance more deserving.
Durant finished Game 4 with a triple double – 20 points, 12 rebounds, 10 assists – but it was almost certainly his Game 3 performance that cemented this award for him, when he poured in 43 points and grabbed 13 rebounds and dished out seven assists to put the Cavs on the ropes.
Kevin Durant wins his second finals MVP😤😤 pic.twitter.com/OEK4UgeGRS
— Seattle Sonics ON Tap (@SonicsONTap) June 9, 2018
Curry’s Finals record nine three-pointers in Game 2 were apparently not enough, and you have to wonder whether his dreadful outing in Game 3, during which he went 1-of-10 from downtown, contributed to voters opting for Durant for this year’s Finals MVP.
NBA tells me the vote on Finals MVP was 7-4, KD over Steph.
Gotta think Durant coming up with that near-perfect game to determine the series was what swayed most voters. It’s what did it for me. https://t.co/wSsCNcGyDQ— Rachel Nichols (@Rachel__Nichols) June 9, 2018
Either way, if there’s any blemish to be had on Curry’s otherwise legendary resume, this is a pretty minor one, and he’ll have to wait at least one more year to try and rectify it if it’s even something that gives him pause anymore.
