Why Stephen Curry deserves Clutch Player of the Year award, per JJ Redick

Stephen Curry doesn’t have the best reputation when it comes to delivering in the clutch. But the stats don’t lie, and JJ Redick definitely has an ironclad case for voting the Warriors star as the 2024 Clutch Player of the Year.

Stephen Curry, the Warriors’ saving grace

It has been a rough 2023-24 season for the Warriors; Draymond Green was at the center of plenty of drama, Klay Thompson and Chris Paul were locked in a hard-fought battle against Father Time, while Andrew Wiggins, confusingly, has declined precipitously. But throughout all the issues that plagued the Warriors this season, Stephen Curry has remained their saving grace.

Curry had a few clutch moments this season, but there was no bigger evidence of his clutch mastery than when he put the Phoenix Suns’ defense to the sword on February 10. With 3.3 seconds to go, Curry salvaged a broken inbounds play by turning around from well beyond the three-point line, nailing a deep shot that gave the Dubs a one-point lead, leaving only 0.7 seconds on the clock.

Stephen Curry also torched the Boston Celtics on December 19 when he sealed the Warriors’ 24-point comeback with a stone-cold three-pointer in overtime. And then earlier in the season, Curry showed that he’s not just a marksman from long range; he can also do his damage on the interior, defeating his old rival, the Oklahoma City Thunder, with a layup that wasn’t without its fair share of controversy.

Overall, Curry was as locked in as he’s going to get in the clutch this past season. As JJ Redick pointed out, he leads the league in clutch points (189) on stellar shooting splits (69.0 percent true shooting), and he lapped the league in three-point makes during this time span (32 clutch triples vs. 13 from the closest players, Damian Lillard and Buddy Hield).

The Warriors’ clutch record (23-20), as Redick pointed out, should not matter too much. After all, De’Aaron Fox won the award last season by garnering 91 percent of the first-place votes, and that was with the Sacramento Kings going just 22-17 in clutch games.

Curry vs. the other Clutch Player of the Year award candidates

JJ Redick pointed out that DeMar DeRozan, Nikola Jokic, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander also garnered consideration for the award. Alas, their 2024 clutch resume pales in comparison to that of Stephen Curry’s.

DeRozan’s Chicago Bulls have been exceptional in the clutch; for a team that won just 47.6 percent of their games, going 24-16 (60 percent win rate) in clutch games is a testament to how being in close contests bring out the best in them. DeRozan set a few clutch records as well, while trailing Curry by just nine total clutch points despite playing in three fewer games than the Warriors star.

Alas, DeMar DeRozan’s efficiency can’t match up to Stephen Curry’s at all. On the other hand, Nikola Jokic and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander benefit from having much better teams around them (they can’t be penalized for that, but it casts Curry’s achievements in a different light, as the Warriors star draws more defensive attention in the clutch than anyone else in the NBA). Jokic and Gilgeous-Alexander also don’t have the clutch production volume that Curry has.