Golden State Warriors point guard Stephen Curry has had an amazing 2015, winning his first NBA MVP award while leading the Warriors to their first title in 40 years, now he can add AP Male Athlete of the Year to the list.
Curry becomes just the fourth NBA player to win the award in its 85-year history, joining LeBron James, Michael Jordan, and Larry Bird. He beat out golfer Jordan Spieth, who won two majors, and American Pharoah, who was the first horse to win the Triple Crown since 1978.
"That's a real honor," Curry said. "I'm appreciative of that acknowledgement because it's across all different sports. ... It's pretty cool."
Curry won the award even though he received three less first-place votes than American Pharoah because he appeared on over 85 percent of the ballots, submitted by 82 U.S. editors and news directors, while over one-third of voters left Pharoah off their lists.
The 6'3", 185-pound point guard has overtaken James as the best and most recognizable player in the NBA over the last year, leading the league in jersey sales and producing record TV ratings nearly every time his team plays. However, Curry thinks he's become so popular because of his style of play.
"The way that I play has a lot of skill but is stuff that if you go to the YMCA or rec leagues or church leagues around the country, everybody wants to shoot, everybody wants to handle the ball, make creative passes and stuff like that. You can work on that stuff. Not everybody has the vertical, or the physical gifts to be able to go out and do a windmill dunk and stuff like that. I can't even do it."
Golden State's head coach, Steve Kerr, offered further praise of Curry, saying his work ethic is what sets him apart.
"The thing I would say about Steph, what makes him who he is, is that nobody has to challenge him to get to the next level because he does it on his own," Kerr said. "I didn't think he could get that much better from last year but I do think he's gotten considerably better, which is quite a feat when you're the reigning MVP."
Curry is averaging 30.8 points, 6.3 assists, and 5.4 rebounds per game this season while leading the Warriors to a NBA-best 28-1 record.
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