{"id":705632,"date":"2026-04-08T17:45:30","date_gmt":"2026-04-08T17:45:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/705632\/"},"modified":"2026-04-08T17:45:30","modified_gmt":"2026-04-08T17:45:30","slug":"3-time-nba-champ-questions-steph-currys-unanimous-mvp-win","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/705632\/","title":{"rendered":"3-Time NBA Champ Questions Steph Curry&#8217;s Unanimous MVP Win"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\t\t\t\t<img width=\"780\" height=\"439\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Copy-of-1920-19.png\" class=\"attachment-featured-image size-featured-image wp-post-image\" alt=\"Steph Curry of the Golden State Warriors\"   decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\"\/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGetty\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>Steph Curry of the Golden State Warriors is a four-time NBA champion.<\/p>\n<p>The only unanimous MVP winner in NBA history is <a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/nba\/player\/stephen-curry\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Steph Curry<\/a>, who achieved the feat in 2016. Curry led the <a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/nba\/golden-state-warriors\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Golden State Warriors<\/a> to a record 73 wins, but they failed to take home the championship.<\/p>\n<p>Curry led the league in scoring that season, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.statmuse.com\/nba\/player\/stephen-curry-787\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer external nofollow\" data-is-sponsored=\"false\">averaging<\/a> 30.1 points per game. He made 402 3-point shots, which remains the most 3-point shots made in a season. He also put up 5.4 rebounds, 6.7 assists and 2.1 steals, while also joining the 50-40-90 club.<\/p>\n<p>It was almost the perfect season for the Warriors, but they lost Game 7 of the NBA Finals to the <a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/nba\/cleveland-cavaliers\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Cleveland Cavaliers<\/a> and blew a 3-1 series lead.<\/p>\n<p>3-Time NBA Champ Questions Curry\u2019s Unanimous MVP Win<a href=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1769450065_MixCollage-26-Jan-2026-09-39-PM-2858.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-5735448\" class=\"size-full wp-image-5735448\" data-lazy-load=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1769450065_MixCollage-26-Jan-2026-09-39-PM-2858.jpg\" alt=\"Steph Curry\" width=\"780\" height=\"439\"  \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-5735448\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">GettyStephen Curry #30 of the Golden State Warriors reacts after scoring during the fourth quarter against the <a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/nba\/dallas-mavericks\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Dallas Mavericks<\/a> at American Airlines Center on January 22, 2026 in Dallas, Texas.<\/p>\n<p>On the latest episode of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=h0ywKUnvELk\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer external nofollow\" data-is-sponsored=\"false\">No Fouls Given<\/a> podcast, three-time <a class=\"wpil_keyword_link\" href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/nba\/\" title=\"NBA\" data-wpil-keyword-link=\"linked\" data-wpil-monitor-id=\"219134\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">NBA<\/a> champion Danny Green wasn\u2019t sure about Curry winning the 2016 MVP unanimously. Green has nothing bad to say about the greatest shooter ever, but he was baffled that no other player received a single first-place vote that season.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNobody else could have got a vote that year?\u201d Green <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/NBA__Courtside\/status\/2041866165006299626\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer external nofollow\" data-is-sponsored=\"false\">asked<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Co-host Wosny Lambre argued that it was the season Curry changed basketball, but Green is still not convinced that at least one voter thought otherwise.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s the first guy ever,\u201d Green <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/NBA__Courtside\/status\/2041866165006299626\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer external nofollow\" data-is-sponsored=\"false\">replied<\/a>. \u201cWe couldn\u2019t get nobody else a vote? A <a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/nba\/player\/lebron-james\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">LeBron James<\/a> couldn\u2019t get a vote?\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Copy-of-1920-68.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-5891595\" class=\"size-full wp-image-5891595\" data-lazy-load=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Copy-of-1920-68.png\" alt=\"Danny Green and Steph Curry\" width=\"780\" height=\"439\"  \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-5891595\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">GettyDanny Green #14 of the <a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/nba\/toronto-raptors\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Toronto Raptors<\/a> is defended by Stephen Curry #30 of the Golden State Warriors in the second half during Game One of the 2019 NBA Finals at Scotiabank Arena on May 30, 2019 in Toronto, Canada.<\/p>\n<p>The former player clarified that Curry did deserve to win MVP that season, but his point was not one first-place vote for players like LeBron or <a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/nba\/player\/kawhi-leonard\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Kawhi Leonard<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe deserved MVP,\u201d Green <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/NBA__Courtside\/status\/2041866165006299626\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer external nofollow\" data-is-sponsored=\"false\">added<\/a>. \u201cI\u2019m not saying he didn\u2019t, but you couldn\u2019t get 98. You couldn\u2019t just give the n***a two votes for one other person. \u2026 In 2016, LeBron was f**king crazy. He couldn\u2019t have 95 votes, spread out five other votes to somebody else.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>As a last-ditch argument, Green brought up Wilt Chamberlain, who dominated the league and never won a unanimous MVP.<\/p>\n<p>Who Were The MVP Finalists in 2016?<a href=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Copy-of-1920-69.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-5891603\" class=\"size-full wp-image-5891603\" data-lazy-load=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Copy-of-1920-69.png\" alt=\"Kawhi Leonard and LeBron James\" width=\"780\" height=\"439\"  \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-5891603\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">GettyLeBron James #23 of the Cleveland Cavaliers drives past Kawhi Leonard #2 of the San Antonio Spurs during the first half at Quicken Loans Arena on January 30, 2016 in Cleveland, Ohio.<\/p>\n<p>According to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/awards\/awards_2016.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer external nofollow\" data-is-sponsored=\"false\">Basketball Reference<\/a>, Curry received all 131 first-place votes to become the first and only unanimous MVP in 2016. But who were the finalists that season?<\/p>\n<p>Kawhi Leonard, who was still playing for the <a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/nba\/san-antonio-spurs\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">San Antonio Spurs<\/a> at that point, came in second. He averaged 21.2 points, 6.8 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 1.8 steals and 1.0 blocks per game.<\/p>\n<p>The Spurs won 67 games that season, and Leonard just became the face of the franchise. He didn\u2019t win MVP, but he took home the Defensive Player of the Year.<\/p>\n<p>LeBron came in third, followed by <a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/nba\/player\/russell-westbrook\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Russell Westbrook<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/nba\/player\/kevin-durant\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Kevin Durant<\/a>, who were still teammates on the <a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/nba\/oklahoma-city-thunder\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Oklahoma City Thunder<\/a>. Durant eventually left Westbrook and the Thunder that same offseason to form a superteam with the Warriors.<\/p>\n<p>Other players who received MVP votes that season were <a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/nba\/player\/chris-paul\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Chris Paul<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/nba\/player\/draymond-green\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Draymond Green<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/nba\/player\/damian-lillard\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Damian Lillard<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/nba\/player\/james-harden\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">James Harden<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/nba\/player\/kyle-lowry\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Kyle Lowry<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/author\/paolodavid99\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Juan Paolo David<\/a> Juan Paolo David is a sports journalist covering basketball for Heavy. He has a decade of experience writing about the NBA and WWE. He&#8217;s currently based in the Philippines.  <a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/author\/paolodavid99\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">More about Juan Paolo David<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t\tMore Heavy on Warriors\n\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t\t\tLoading more stories\n\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty Steph Curry of the Golden State Warriors is a four-time NBA champion. The only unanimous MVP winner&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":696335,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3770],"tags":[7,6,681,680,476,3820],"class_list":{"0":"post-705632","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-toronto-raptors","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-nba","10":"tag-raptors","11":"tag-toronto","12":"tag-toronto-raptors","13":"tag-torontoraptors"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116370338244886080","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/705632","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=705632"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/705632\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/696335"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=705632"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=705632"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=705632"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}