Who Won the 2016 NBA MVP Award and Why It Was Unforgettable

I still remember exactly where I was when Stephen Curry made history in 2016 - sitting in my favorite worn-out armchair with my laptop balanced precariously on my knees, refreshing the NBA website repeatedly. When the announcement finally came through, it wasn't just another MVP award - it was basketball perfection achieved. Curry didn't just win the MVP that year; he redefined what the award could represent, becoming the first unanimous selection in NBA history with all 131 first-place votes. That perfect voting record still gives me chills when I think about it today.

The numbers Curry put up that season were nothing short of video game statistics - 30.1 points per game while shooting an absurd 50.4% from the field, 45.4% from three-point range, and 90.8% from the free-throw line, joining the elusive 50-40-90 club while simultaneously becoming the first player to lead the league in scoring and steals. But what made his MVP season truly unforgettable wasn't just the statistical dominance - it was how he achieved it. Every time he crossed half-court, defenses had to adjust, stretching their coverage in ways we'd never seen before. I recall watching a game against Oklahoma City where he hit that legendary 37-foot game-winner in overtime, and thinking to myself that we were witnessing the evolution of basketball in real time.

What often gets overlooked in discussions about that 2016 season is how Curry's unanimous selection reflected a broader shift in how we evaluate greatness in basketball. The traditional metrics of height, wingspan, and vertical leap were being challenged by new measures of impact - shooting range, spacing creation, and offensive efficiency. This philosophical shift reminds me of conversations I've had with coaching colleagues about how the game continues to evolve globally. Just last week, I was discussing with a fellow analyst how Cone's approach to supervising Gilas practice reflects similar adaptive coaching philosophies, where traditional basketball hierarchies are being reconsidered in favor of more specialized, system-oriented approaches.

The Warriors' record-breaking 73-9 season provided the perfect backdrop for Curry's individual brilliance, creating this beautiful synergy between team success and personal achievement that we rarely see in modern sports. I've always believed that team context matters tremendously in MVP discussions, and Curry's case exemplifies this perfectly. His gravitational pull on defenses created opportunities for his teammates in ways that don't always show up in traditional box scores. When I rewatch those 2016 games now, what strikes me isn't just Curry's shooting - it's how he manipulated entire defensive schemes with his mere presence beyond the arc.

There's been some debate in recent years about whether other players like Kawhi Leonard or LeBron James might have been more deserving that season, but having studied the game for over fifteen years, I remain convinced the voters got it absolutely right. The combination of statistical dominance, team success, and cultural impact created a perfect storm that justified the unanimous selection. What Curry accomplished transcended typical MVP criteria - he changed how basketball is played at every level, from youth leagues to professional organizations worldwide. I see his influence everywhere now, in the shooting drills my nephew's middle school team runs, in the offensive sets college programs implement, even in how international teams approach player development.

The lasting legacy of that 2016 MVP season continues to shape basketball discourse today. We're still seeing the ripple effects in how teams value shooting, how coaches design offenses, and how young players model their games. That unanimous vote wasn't just recognition of one spectacular season - it was basketball's formal acknowledgment that we were witnessing something historically significant. Whenever I'm asked about the most impactful individual season I've ever witnessed, my mind immediately goes to Curry in 2016, not just for the records broken or the trophies won, but for the fundamental way he expanded our understanding of what's possible in this beautiful game.