'Warrior' Stephen Curry wins historical unanimous MVP

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As the old saying goes: “winner takes all”, and this time, the winner is Stephen Curry, and indeed, he is taking it all!

The Golden State Warriors guard became NBA's first-ever unanimous Most Valuable Player (MVP) on Tuesday.

Here secured his place in NBA history by winning- all 131 MVP first-place votes, with zero doubters.

OTHERS HAVE COME CLOSE BUT CURRY IS THE FIRST

He is also the 11th player to win back to back MVP awards, joining Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan and Steve Nash as the only guards to earn the honor in consecutive seasons.

LeBron James was one vote from achieving unanimous victory in 2013, and Shaquille O'Neal was also one vote short in the 2000 ballot.

CHANGING THE GAME

He cemented his MVP selection by coming back from injury on Monday, with 40 points including 17 in overtime, against the Portland Trail Blazers in game four of the Western Conference semifinal series.

San Antonio Spurs forward Kawhi Leonard came second in the vote for MVP, followed by Cleveland Cavaliers' forward LeBron James.

"I never really set out to change the game. I never thought that would happen in my career," Curry said Tuesday, as he accepted the trophy during a news conference in Oakland, California. "What I wanted to do was be myself. ... I know it inspires the next generation. You can work every day to get better."

"He wants it," coach Steve Kerr said. "There's no ulterior motive. He's constantly trying to improve with no agenda. ... This is incredibly improbable. But there's a reason this is happening."

CHAMPION NUMBERS

With his unmatched long-range shooting and slick ball-handling, the 28-year-old Davidson College graduate led the league in scoring with 30.1 points per game.

He also led the league in steals (2.14), becoming the first player to lead the league in both scoring and steals since Allen Iverson in 2011-02. Curry's other stats this season include 6.7 assists and 5.4 rebounds, playing an average of 34.2 minutes per game, according to nba.com.

Curry also led the league in Player Efficiency Rating (31.56), true shooting percentage (.669) and offensive rating (116.7) and posted more games with at least 30 points (40), 40 points (13) and 50 points (3) than any other player in the league.

SKEPTICAL VOICES

As usual, there are some who doubt the validity of Curry's achievement.

Seven-time NBA All-Star, Tracy McGrady, said that Curry winning the award unanimously is a testament to the watered-down nature of the league, during an appearance on ESPN's The Jump .

“For him to be that first play to get this unanimously, I think it just tells you how watered-down our league is,” McGrady commented,” When you think of MJ, Shaq...I mean, those guys really played against top notch competition. More superstars, I think, on more teams, than it is in our league today.”

“They're going to have more of a spotlight, and people are going to ask questions about whoever it is,” Curry said about the scrutiny of being MVP. 

“When there are legends and people that I looked up to as a player—as a young kid, as a basketball player—Hall of Famers and guys that talk about our team, it means that obviously we're doing something good, so we keep doing it. I take it with a grain of salt.”