Golden State Warriors superstar
Stephen Curry is the 2023-2024 Kia NBA Clutch Player of the Year,
the league announced Thursday night.
Curry, 36, beat the field of
nominees and finalists including the Chicago Bulls’ DeMar DeRozan
and Oklahoma City Thunder’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Curry finished
with a total of 298 points with 45 1st place votes (equivalent to
five points), 18 2nd place votes (three points), and 19 3rd place
votes (one point). DeRozan had a total of 272 points to finish at
second place while Gilgeous-Alexander came in at third with 160
total points.
The 36-year-old Curry continues
to marvel at the people around the league and the world with his
superstar-level play at his age. During the 2023-2024 season, Curry
scored an NBA-high 189 points in clutch situations, which are
defined as possessions in the final five minutes of the fourth
quarter or overtime when the score is within five points. He also
led the league in clutch field goals made (59) and clutch
three-pointers made (32).
The 6-foot-3 point guard shot
49.6% from the field, 45.7% from three-point range, and 95.1% from
the free throw line in clutch time with the Warriors playing the
most clutch teams (48) than any other team in the
league.
Curry, whose Warriors were
booted out early in the play-in tournament by the Sacramento Kings,
aims to add another hardware to his long list of accolades when he
plays for the USA Basketball National Team this summer at the Paris
Olympics.
