Stephen Curry has one other trophy so as to add to his mantel.
Curry, 36, was named the 2023-24 Clutch Player of the Year. He got here in first with 45 out of 99 votes. edge Eliminate DeMar DeRozan on the ballot box.
Curry is the second winner of the award, which Sacramento's De'Aaron Fox won in his freshman yr last season.
Curry led the NBA with 189 points scored in clutch games – defined as games inside five points with lower than five minutes remaining. DeRozan finished second (182), followed by Damian Lillard (139).
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the third finalist alongside Curry and DeRozan, finished eighth within the clutch standings with 112 total points.
“You have to be able to fail,” Curry said on TNT. “You know the quote from Jordan: You miss (100%) of the shots you don’t take. You need to be okay with the shot you miss and have a brief memory for it. I don't know if anything clicked aside from just knowing how much time you've put into the sport, and with that point comes the arrogance you deserve: 'Okay, I'm ready for any moment.'”
When the Warriors needed him most, Curry stepped up his game. In critical situations, Curry shot 49.6% from the sector and 45.7% from behind the arc – each well above his season averages.
Curry added two game-winning shots to his resume when he beat the Suns on Feb. 10 with a 33-footer and beat the Thunder within the in-season tournament with a layup on the horn.
Other decisive moments from Curry were canceled out by disappointing scenes from his team. He gave the Warriors the lead along with his ninth 3-pointer of the sport with 4.7 seconds left, just for LeBron James to hit the game-winning free throws at the opposite end as time expired. He also scored a layup against the Hawks – a season-high 60 points – but Dejounte Murray sent the sport to extra time, which Atlanta won.
“Everyone remembers the highlights,” Curry said on TNT. “But there are a number of shots that you simply miss, that you simply leave the court and say, 'That was a great one which I must have made, I wish I had taken it.' But you progress on to the following one. You need to have a little bit amnesia to find a way to recollect these moments repeatedly with the identical confidence.”
The Warriors played 48 clutch games, essentially the most within the NBA. In such contests, they posted a 24-24 record, emblematic of the sentiment shared by many within the organization: The Warriors must have been a playoff team.
Curry's Hall of Fame resume includes 4 NBA championships, two MVPs, one Finals MVP, nine All-NBA selections and the all-time 3-point belt. And now the 2023-24 Clutch Player of the Year award.
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