We’re around the quarter mark of the NBA season. The Warriors have gone from a slow 3-7 start to a strong 8-3 in their last few games, and are a game above .500 heading into their matchup tonight with the Dallas Mavericks. There’s been a lot more going right recently, which has helped them turn the corner, but one consistency that both kept them buoyant in their struggles and elevated them to their heights?

Who else, but Stephen Curry, picking up right where he left off in the 2022 Finals.

Curry is turning in arguably the best statistical season of his career, only rivaled by his unanimous MVP performance in 2016. He’s averaging over 7 assists for the first time since his first MVP season, a career high in rebounds, and most impressively, 31.4 points per game on unfathomable shooting: 52% from the field (career best), 44% from three, and 91% from the line, totaling out to 64.8% effective field goal shooting (also a career best). He’s en-route to being the only player to average over 30 on 50/40/90 shooting sine himself. To put it flatly, he’s been nothing short of unstoppable.

And what Steph is doing this season is scoring efficiency which literally hasn’t been seen since Michael Jordan’s prime, efficiency which he himself hasn’t even done before. His points per game average is higher than his usage rating (31.3%) so far. The last and only guy to do that in the modern era? The G.O.A.T. himself.

It’s not just his individual talents on display, however. Curry is the only player in NBA history to ever eclipse an offensive box plus minus of over +10. He did so when the Warriors won 73 games and he was the unanimous MVP… and he’s doing it again this year. His defensive box plus minus isn’t half bad either, putting up his 4th-best DBPM rating of his career at +1.0, eclipsing his impact on last year’s historically-dominant Warriors defense where he was noted as remarkably improved. His total box plus minus comes out to +11.0, a second-best only to… well, you get the idea.

Curry’s impact on the Warriors success is incredibly pronounced, and you can look at simple factors to come to that conclusion regardless of where you stand on advanced stat calculations. He’s top 3 in total plus-minus at +162, trailing number one Jayson Tatum (who has had a healthy and normally-performing cast his whole season) by only 7 - something which could easily change against Dallas tonight. Curry’s tear is a historic one, so why isn’t he getting recognition as the MVP?

The reason he isn’t getting that recognition is, ironically enough, why he should be the frontrunner for the award: The team’s record. The Warriors are 0-2 without him this season, and 11-8 when he does play. His ability to elevate his teammates has gotten Golden State back on track after a bad start, and he’s put up huge numbers to secure important wins early on which kept them afloat when all seemed lost.

Now, the team’s a game and a half back from the 4th seed in a brutal Western Conference despite struggling early on, and that’s largely because of Steph’s heroics. He’s the closer, leading all players who’ve played at least 15 games this season in points in the 4th quarter at 8.4, despite not even being in the top 50 of minutes played per 4th quarter at 6.8. He leads the Warriors in 4th quarter plus minus at +2.3, with Klay Thompson and Donte Divincenzo being the only other players to even eclipse +1. If that doesn’t scream “most valuable”, when it’s clear he’s willing his team to win and stepping up when it matters most on top of all the metrics mentioned prior, then it’s hard to tell what really counts.

With an all-time incredible offensive season and unmatched value to this Warriors team, Stephen Curry is absolutely the MVP frontrunner. The team’s record, despite being about where most of the rest of the conference is at (unlike a much weaker East where there are maybe three legitimately competitive teams total), is the only argument holding him back. But as the Dubs keep to their winning ways, you have to ask: Where would this team be without 30? And once you have your answer, that’s all the evidence needed to give him his flowers.

(Photo credit: Christian Peterson / Getty Images)