Stephen Curry has made picked his non-Warriors MVP, at least for now

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Stephen Curry thinks James Harden would be a worthy MVP. (AP) The NBA’s MVP debate has ramped up to new levels in recent weeks, with several players joining season-long favorites Russell Westbrook and James Harden in the everyday discussion. Whether Kawhi Leonard ends up as a serious candidate in April remains to be seen, but the race looks as open as it has in some time. There is no Stephen Curry to soak up all the votes and let his team start planning his awards press conference at the All-Star break.
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Perhaps the back-to-back winner can help sway some voters’ decisions. Curry appeared on Monday’s episode of “The Dan Patrick Show” and was asked who he’d choose as his 2017 MVP among those players not on the Golden State Warriors. After copping out by saying he needs to wait until the season, Curry offered his answer for right now — Harden (via SLAM):

Here’s the relevant portion of the transcript:

I’d probably say James.
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What is it about him that’s different than Russell Westbrook as far as value?
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It’s probably not much as value, it’s just you have to award the better team, record-wise, as it’s kind of gone in the history of the MVP award. So I think James probably edges him out as far as that.
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You can guard Westbrook for a game or Harden, you’ve got to pick one.
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It don’t matter. … It’s a challenge either way, just as I hope they’d say the same about me.
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There’s more to the clip, including a pretty fun response from Curry on how Westbrook would fare as a football player. For our purposes, though, the substance of the interview comes in Curry’s answer for why he would pick Harden over Westbrook. It’s a familiar criterion for choosing MVP, but it also points to Curry’s unique position in the argument.
The easiest point to make here is that, by Curry’s own argument, Kawhi Leonard could be a better candidate than James Harden. Kawhi’s San Antonio Spurs won on Monday night to draw even with the Warriors at 52-14 and ahead of them via tiebreaker in the race for the No. 1 seed. While it’s not wrong to rate a player ahead of others even if his team isn’t as good, Leonard has made a decent case in recent weeks and plays for a team 6 1/2 games ahead of Harden’s Houston Rockets in the standings. Why not him?
Well, probably because the Warriors are locked in a seeding battle with the Spurs and Curry isn’t exactly inclined to praise them. But, in a way, Curry is also arguing for himself and his teammates — the people he wasn’t allowed to choose. The Warriors are currently mired in their worst slump in several years, but they remain one of the best teams in the NBA and should enter the playoffs with a top-two seed and, if everything works out accordingly, a healthy Kevin Durant to help them return to the status of title favorites. By calling out Harden’s team success, Curry is indirectly (or maybe even subconsciously) praising Golden State. These other players have had great seasons, but the Warriors represent the level that all teams (except the defending champion Cleveland Cavaliers) are trying to reach.

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Eric Freeman is a writer for Ball Don’t Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
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