The Golden State Warriors lifted the 2021-22 NBA championship in an impressive fashion after defeating the Boston Celtics. Stephen Curry led the Warriors’ attack and earned the 2022 Finals MVP, the only accolade that was missing from his opulent trophy cabinet. Curry fought off several dominating superstars in the playoffs after returning from a foot sprain in March. However, the four-time NBA champ was recently snubbed in a divisive new year’s take that announced the 2022 “Golden Basketball” award winner.

The Golden Basketball award is a little distinguished from the regular season and Finals MVP awards. It measures a player’s performance across the NBA regular seasons and playoffs, along with international competition. ESPN’s senior writer Kevin Pelton recently named the honorary mentions in a recent report. Curry was leading among the top performers in 2022. However, despite averaging 27.4 points, 5.9 assists, and 5.2 rebounds per game in 22 playoff appearances this year, Curry missed out on the award due to an unfortunate reason.

Stephen Curry missed out on the 2022 Golden Basketball award

The contenders for the Golden Basketball award were Miami Heat’s Jimmy Butler, Brooklyn Net’s Kevin Durant, Philadelphia 76ers’ Joel Embiid, Memphis Grizzlies’ Ja Morant, Milwaukee Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo, Dallas Mavericks’ Luka Doncic, Denver Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic, Boston Celtics’ Jayson Tatum, and Warriors’ Steph Curry. 

As per ESPN’s Kevin Pelton, Mavericks’ Luka Doncic and Warriors’ Stephen Curry were the final two contenders for the Golden Basketball Award. The senior writer suggested that he was inclined to pick Curry as this year’s winner due to his ‘historical legacy’ in 2022. However, Pelton chose Doncic due to ‘his relative health and value in the regular season’.

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Moreover, Pelton stated, “Curry won the first Magic Johnson Western Conference Finals MVP as his team cruised past Doncic’s 4-1, but I think that result said more about their respective supporting casts than the two superstars.“

Further, Pelton pointed out that despite a slow start last season, Doncic edged Curry in the All-NBA First Team appearance. The Warriors superstar finished fourth among guards in the voting. Pelton believed that Doncic’s appearance ahead of Curry was a reflection of his performance in 2022, naming the Mavericks’ superstar as ‘No. 1 so far this season by a wide margin’.

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Therefore, Pelton believed that Luka Doncic deserved the Golden Basketball award more than Stephen Curry due to his overall performance.

Stephen Curry’s recent injury and expected return

Steph Curry has been sidelined due to a shoulder injury since mid-December. The Warriors have coped better than expected in Curry’s absence.  The eight-time All-Star is likely to return in a couple of weeks as per head coach Steve Kerr.

 Kerr stated, “He’s getting a lot of good work in, he’s really coming along well. Everything is progressing.”

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The Warriors coach suggested that Curry might return to the court soon as he continued to make progress in rehab. Thus, Steph Curry could return in time to lead his team to a better regular season record soon. 

Who do you think deserved the 2022 Golden Basketball award? Let us know in the comments below!