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SPORTSMonday 28 December 2015
Stephen Curry Shoots Way to AP Male Athlete of Year
JOSH DUBOW erage fans can only dream “The way that I play has a
AP Sports Writer of having, Curry’s game re- lot of skill but is stuff that if
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — lies on the traits that every you go to the YMCA or rec
Stephen Curry’s greatness casual player can work on: leagues or church leagues
as a basketball player can shoot, dribble and pass. around the country, every-
be measured by his re- The difference is, perhaps body wants to shoot, ev-
cord-setting shooting num- nobody ever has put those erybody wants to handle
bers that are changing the three skills together the the ball, make creative
game. same way Curry has the passes and stuff like that,”
His immense popularity de- past year as he has domi- he said. “You can work on
rives from something less nated on the court and that stuff. Not everybody
tangible. made the once downtrod- has the vertical, or the
While many NBA greats den Golden State War- physical gifts to be able to
rely on uncommon height riors the NBA’s must-watch go out and do a windmill
and athletic ability that av- team. dunk and stuff like that. I
can’t even do it.”
That’s about all Curry is Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) drives to the
unable to do on the bas- basket in front of New Orleans Pelicans forward Ryan Anderson
ketball court. His amazing in the first half of an NBA basketball game in New Orleans.
year, in which he won an Curry has been named The Associated Press 2015 Male Athlete
MVP, led Golden State to of the Year.
its first title in 40 years and
helped the Warriors get off (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
to a record-setting start this
season, earned him The As- early or even sometimes game to 30.8 — the biggest
sociated Press 2015 Male on TV pregame shows. He
Athlete of the Year. does an elaborate two- one-year jump ever by an
Curry finished first in a vote ball dribbling routine, works
by U.S. editors and news di- on passes and shots with MVP — prompting Rose to
rectors, with the results re- both hands, takes jump
leased Saturday. He joined shots from just inside half say that Curry could be the
LeBron James, Michael court and then caps it with
Jordan and Larry Bird as a long-range shot from the most improved player and
the only basketball players tunnel on the way back to
to win the honor in the 85 the locker room. repeat as MVP this season
years of the award. Curry “Steph actually looks dif-
beat out golfer Jordan Spi- ferent,” ESPN analyst Jalen in a remarkable tribute to
eth, who won two majors, Rose said. “Like the best
and American Pharoah, player in the league usual- the offseason work he put
who became the first horse ly is also physically oppos-
since 1978 to win the Triple ing — 6-6 plus, scowl on his in even after winning a title.
Crown. face, menacing. With the
While American Pharoah attitude that we appreci- He has become much
got three more first-place ated because like a Mi-
votes than Curry’s 24, Cur- chael Jordan or Shaquille more efficient scoring
ry appeared on 86 per- O’Neal, or Kobe Bryant,
cent of the 82 ballots that you know, just a cutthroat on drives and has amaz-
ranked the top five candi- nature. Steph allows us into
dates. More than one-third his living room. We see him ingly added range to his
of the voters left American on a national stage be a
Pharoah off their list. son, a dad, a husband, a already record-setting
“That’s a real honor,” Curry father, a brother. And he
said. “I’m appreciative of does all of it while continu- 3-point shooting. Curry can
that acknowledgement ing to improve.”
because it’s across all dif- Curry has improved his consistently make shots
ferent sports. ... It’s pretty scoring from 23.8 points per
cool.” from 28 feet out as he is on
Curry has become the
face of the NBA this past pace to shatter his own re-
year. His jersey is the best-
seller in the league, his cord of 3-pointers made in
team’s games get record
television ratings at home a season.
and in opposing markets
and even his 3-year-old The drive to succeed is fu-
daughter Riley became a
star by overshadowing her eled by the fact that Curry
dad at playoff news con-
ferences. got no major scholarship
Even his intricate warmup
routine has become a offers coming out of high
show for fans who get out
school, he was the third
point guard taken in the
2009 draft and he settled
for a below-market con-
tract extension three years
ago because people
questioned his durability
following ankle injuries.q
