Steph Curry crashes NBA MVP race after record-setting month

Steph Curry’s unprecedented hot streak finally came to an end on Wednesday night in a loss to the Washington Wizards, but even the rocket boosters on a spaceship have to turn off eventually.

The loss came on Curry’s worst three-point shooting night of the season, and ended his 11-game streak of scoring at least 30 points. Curry has lit the league on fire over the last month, scoring seemingly at will and accomplishing shooting feats never seen in the history of the league. As a result, the two-time MVP has vaulted himself into the 2021 NBA MVP race with just a month to go in the season.

Curry moves into the top three

While Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets is still the clear-cut favorite, Curry’s offensive explosion over the last month has pushed him all the way to third in the race, where he now sits at +1700. Entering March, he was positioned behind Jokic, LeBron James, Joel Embiid, Luka Doncic, and Giannis Antetokounmpo. James’ injury has eliminated him from the race, while Embiid’s return and overall high quality play has kept him in second.

Curry is re-writing the record books

Curry’s last month has been the stuff of legend. The seven-time All-Star is averaging 38.7 points per game in the month of April, and now has 21 games with at least 10 threes in his career.

Curry has 72 threes in his last 10 games, and is now leading the league in points per game, surpassing Bradley Beal after the Wizards star held the pole position for nearly the entire season. Curry has also surpassed Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan for the most 40-point games in a season by a player at least 33 years old.

Can Curry remain red-hot?

When deciding if Curry’s hot streak makes him a worthy recipient of this year’s MVP award, Curry believes that it does. The odds, however, tell a different story. While Curry is in the midst of an incredible shooting streak, he will need another month of play at this level to knock off the steady Jokic. Such play is likely unsustainable given the historical rarity of his streak.

Golden State's record is working against Curry

In addition, the MVP award is simply not given to players on mediocre teams. Th Warriors have been considerably better lately, but they're still just in 10th place in the Western Conference and 15 games behind the Utah Jazz.

While Curry’s hot streak is incredible and a true joy to watch, it is still not enough to earn him the MVP.