OAKLAND, Calif. — His voice cracked first. Then, his eyes got red. Finally, Stephen Curry cried.
He had felt this way in the past — when he barely received any scholarship offers out of high school, when some questioned whether his game could translate from tiny Davidson College to the NBA, when he sat in a doctor’s office searching for answers on how to fix his troublesome right ankle.
Curry could let it all out and laugh now. This was a time for celebration.
The Golden State Warriors point guard won the NBA’s Most Valuable Player award Monday, the biggest moment yet of a young career already full of overcoming obstacles.
Curry received the Maurice Podoloff Trophy in a packed hotel ballroom below Golden State’s downtown Oakland practice facility. He shook his head in disbelief as he was announced as the winner of the league’s top individual honor.
“There were obviously good times and bad times. Times I wanted to shut it down. Times where you realize that all the hard work you put into it was worth it,” Curry said. “It just made me realize how blessed and thankful I really am to be in this position.”
Curry received 100 of 130 first-place votes for a total of 1,198 points from a panel of 129 writers and broadcasters, along with the fan vote on the NBA’s website. Houston’s James Harden had 25 first-place votes and 936 points. Cleveland’s LeBron James, a four-time MVP, got five first-place votes and 552 points.