LeBron James truly believes that Stephen Curry deserves winning this year's MVP award. But, according to the Cleveland Cavaliers forward, the word "valuable" in MVP is open to interpretation.
James made the statement shortly after Curry accepted his award, making him the first NBA player to get all 131 first-place votes.
Although James maintained that everyone who won the MVP title is deserving of the award, the honor that comes with the title is up for debate.
"I think sometimes the word 'valuable' or best player of the year you can have different results," he said according to ESPN. "You know, that's not taking anything from anyone that's ever won the award."
Despite his thoughts on the matter, James is well aware that Curry worked hard in achieving this year's title through each game that he played in.
"Look at Steph's numbers," he said. "He averaged 30, he led the league in steals, he was 90-50-40 [shooting percentages from the free throw line, field and beyond the 3-point line] and they won 73 [games]."
"So I don't - do you have any debate over that, really, when it comes to that award?" James continued. But when you talk about most 'valuable,' then you can have a different conversation, so, take nothing away from him, he's definitely deserving of that award, for sure."
Curry was given his second consecutive MVP award after leading the Golden State Warriors to victory during Game 4 against the Portland Trail Blazers at the Western Conference Semifinals. That's the same game where he scored a total of 40 points, 17 of which was made during overtime.
Another impressive feat about the athlete was that Game 4 served as his comeback from an injury. When the second round of the semifinals rolled in, he missed the first three games due to a sprained right MCL. But, even with his absence, the Warriors was still able to lead the series at 2-1.
Due to his impressive performance this season, he became the league's first unanimous MVP. The other contenders, including James, and Kawhi Leonard did not stand a chance at getting the title as none of them received even one first-place vote.
