On Thursday night, Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry was named the 2024 Clutch Player of the Year.
The 35-year-old out a field that included Chicago Bulls swingman DeMar DeRozan and Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. A two-time NBA MVP and four-time NBA champion, Curry’s legend continues to grow after emerging as the best shooter in NBA history. Curry is the second player to win the award, following Sacramento Kings guard De’Aaron Fox in 2023.
It was a relatively narrow victory for Curry, who amassed 298 total points to DeRozan’s 272 total points. DeRozan, a six-time All-Star and one of the best scorers in NBA history, finished with 34 first-place votes. While it was 11 fewer votes than Curry received, the gap between he and Gilgeous-Alexander (11 first-place votes) was more than double that.
Per ESPN’s Stats & Info (h/t ESPN’s Kendra Andrews), Curry led the league with 189 total points in clutch time on 49.6 percent shooting from the field, 45.7 percent from 3, and 95.1 percent shooting from the charity stripe. Curry also had made 12 shots to tie the game or give the Warriors the lead in the last two minutes and seven shots to tie the game or give the Warriors the lead in the last 24 seconds.
Curry averaged 26.4 points and 5.1 assists per game in 2023-24, shooting 40.3 percent from 3.
Other NBA Award Winners
This week, Philadelphia 76ers guard Tyrese Maxey and Minnesota Timberwolves big man Naz Reid were also announced as award-winners.
Maxey won the NBA’s Most Improved Player of the Year Award after averaging 25.9 points and 6.2 assists per game on 37.3 percent shooting from 3. He’s the first player to win the award after averaging 20 points per game the previous season. However, his ability to step up in the wake of James Harden’s trade helped the Sixers make the playoffs while beginning the season with Joel Embiid as their lone All-Star.
Reid won the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year Award in a stunning victory. Many would have predicted Kings guard Malik Monk to have won the award after he averaged a career-high 15.4 points and 5.1 assists per game.
A late season injury sustained by Monk and Timberwolves star big man Karl-Anthony Towns may have influenced the voter’s decision. Minnesota went 12-6 without Towns, largely due to Reid’s play. In that stretch, the New Jersey native averaged 17.6 points, 6.8 rebounds, 1.4 blocks, and 1.2 steals per game while shooting 42.6 percent from 3.
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