Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry won the NBA’s second Clutch Player of the Year award on Thursday.
Curry defeated DeMar DeRozan of the Chicago Bulls and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Oklahoma City Thunder to win the honor, which was created last season as an additional season honor for Most Valuable Player, Defensive Player of the Year, Rookie of the Year, Sixth Man of the Year, Most Improved Player of the Year and Coach of the Year.
The NBA defines “clutch time” as the last five minutes of the fourth quarter or overtime when the game is within five points.
Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry is the recipient of the Jerry West Trophy as the 2023-24 Kia ​​NBA Clutch Player of the Year. pic.twitter.com/NyylEJXK2R
— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) April 25, 2024
The 36-year-old Curry led the NBA in clutch points this season, scoring 189. DeRozan was second with 182 clutch points, though his average of 4.6 per game was higher than Curry’s 4.4. (The Bulls guard also played the most clutch minutes of the three finalists, at 191.8.) Gilgeous-Alexander scored 112, ranking seventh among players who played in at least 15 games.
The 15-year veteran received 45 first-place votes, finishing ahead of DeRozan’s 34 and Gilgeous-Alexander’s 11. Also taking first place in the voting were Nikola Jokic (4), New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson (2). ) and Luka Doncic of the Dallas Mavericks (1).
For the season, Curry averaged 26.4 points, 5.1 assists and 4.5 rebounds while shooting 41 percent from 3-point range for a Golden State squad that finished 10th in the Western Conference standings after losing their play-in tournament game with the Sacramento Kings.
Curry adds this season’s Clutch Player honors to a personal trophy case that includes two NBA MVP awards, an NBA Finals MVP, 10 All-Star bids (and All-Star Game MVP) and four NBA championships.
The winner of the Clutch Player will receive the Jerry West Trophy. The legendary Los Angeles Lakers star was nicknamed “Mr. Clutch” during his 14-year career for his excellent shooting at the end of close games.
First honors last season went to Kings guard De’Aaron Fox.
Philadelphia 76ers guard Tyrese Maxey tipped off the NBA’s awards season this week, winning Most Improved Player honors on Tuesday. That was followed by Minnesota Timberwolves center Naz Reid earning the Sixth Man of the Year award on Thursday.
Coach of the Year will be awarded on Sunday, while Rookie of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year and MVP will be announced at dates to be determined.
The three finalists for each of the remaining NBA awards can be seen here.
