Stephen Curry Wins Inaugural Magic Johnson MVP As Warriors Advance To NBA Finals

The Golden State Warriors eliminated the Dallas Mavericks with a 120-110 Game 5 win to book their ticket back to the NBA Finals. Warriors superstar Stephen Curry received the honor of being named the inaugural winner of the Magic Johnson Western Conference Finals MVP.

Number 30

Stephen Curry

Western Conference Finals MVP pic.twitter.com/3gd1TikMRA
— Golden State Warriors (@warriors) May 27, 2022

Curry may not have the Finals MVP in his trophy case just yet. But at least he can forever take pride in being the first-ever West Finals MVP.

The Warriors return to the championship round for the first time since 2019. This marks their sixth Finals appearance in eight years. They await the winner of the Celtics-Heat series, where Boston leads 3-2.

The NBA introduced conference finals MVPs for the first time this season. The West was named after the Los Angeles Lakers legend, while the East was called the Larry Bird trophy.

Curry didn't have the best series statistically. He averaged just 23.8 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 7.4 assists, while shooting 44.4 percent from the field. The two-time NBA MVP did shoot an elite 43.8 percent from three throughout the series, which included a pair of 30-point outings in their Games 2 and 3 wins.

Other candidates for the trophy included Andrew Wiggins and Kevon Looney, who were both unsung heroes for Golden State. Wiggins had a tremendous series producing on offense while guarding Luka Doncic on the other end of the floor.

Meanwhile, Looney played perhaps the best basketball of his life, averaging 10.6 points and 10.6 rebounds through five games, which included an 18-rebound performance in the series-clincher.

Nonetheless, there really is no other individual more deserving of being the inaugural recipient of the Magic Johnson trophy than Curry. Magic and Steph are widely regarded as the two greatest point guards of all time. It's only right that no. 30 gets that honor first.