Stephen Curry has come into possession of the NBA Clutch Player of the Year trophy for the 2023–24 season. The League came out with the news on Thursday evening. This honour, called the Jerry West Award in honour of the Paris Tyres wings-up icon and the legendary Los Angeles Lakers hero Jerry West, is celebrating its second year of existence. With that in mind, among so many other awards, the Clutch Player of the Year award was given to De’Aaron Fox out of the Sacramento Kings in the previous season. Finally, the luminous figure from the Golden State Warriors delivered the award to Curry for the second time.
Moreover, the superstar’s signature clutch performances are what set him apart from the rest While he is known by many to be one of the NBA’s best game-finishers, Curry’s level of ability to produce the scoring that comes at the end of the game when the pressure is at its peak is widely appreciated. After the award came into existence in 2022, it became crystal clear that in the season 2015-16, Curry would have been a candidate for the award, so as to reflect his ability to be excellent over the years.
Curry capped this season, keeping his cold veins trained, by earning him the title of the Jerry West Trophy. With the first position on the leaderboard, Curry had 189 total points and made 32 three-pointers in the clutch moments of the games, which was defined by the NBA as a 5-point lead with 5 minutes or fewer remaining. Achieving the most heroic among plentiful accomplishments was the amazing game-winning shot against the Phoenix Suns under 0.7 seconds on the clock.
However, Stephen Curry met a challenging opponent, the forward of impressive qualities, DeMar DeRozan, who played for the Chicago Bulls. Coming up in crucial moments, DeRozan had 182 aggregate points to make him number one overall. Additionally, he led the league in clutch free throws made (65) and attempted (74). But the statistics are so low, as the Bulls didn’t have more data points over such a short span, whereas Curry’s statistical superiority ultimately got him the win.
The complete voting results for the 2023-24 Kia NBA Clutch Player of the Year. pic.twitter.com/vAEzGmiZS3
— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) April 25, 2024
Lastly, the count of votes went in Curry’s favour, as he bagged 45 first-place votes on DeRozan’s 34. As for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Oklahoma City Thunder, the other finalist, who was ranked fourth with 11 first-place votes, received 11 votes to finish third in the rankings.
In the case of Curry, who may find himself on a short list of some of the best players in NBA history, another empty slot in a golden career has been filled. Before this season, Stephen Curry had notched up one of the most impressive collections of accolades, including ‘The NBA Championship’ in 2015, ‘Sport’s Person of the Year’ in 2015 and 2016, two ‘NBA MVP awards, two ‘NBA Scoring titles, 4 ‘NBA Championships’, 8 ‘All-NBA selections’, Nevertheless, claiming the Clutch Player of the Year title gives Curry yet another way to prove his greatness, because not only is curry a talented player, but he is probably among the best basketball players of all time. Prowess achieved at the National Games and along the road to clinching a gold medal with Team USA this summer, his mantle of successful endeavours is continuing to expand with one more honour.
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