Stephen Curry savors rise to MVP candidate: ‘I’m still not anywhere near what I want to achieve’

NBA player Stephen Curry shoots on his way to winning the Three-Point Contest as part of the NBA All-Star Saturday Night festivities at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, USA, 14 February 2015. EPA/JASON SZENESShow less

NEW YORK // It has been a long climb for Stephen Curry from a frustrating rookie season with the Golden State Warriors to top-vote getter for the NBA All-Star Game on Sunday.

The sweet-shooting guard from Davidson College suffered through a 26-56 season with the Warriors after being the seventh pick of the 2009 NBA Draft, but comes to Madison Square Garden as the floor leader of the NBA’s top team at 42-9.

“I had very high expectations, a dream,” the 6-foot-3 (1.90m) Curry said after Saturday’s practice with the East All-Stars. “You never know how it’s going to unfold, and take place. That’s the fun part about the journey.

“And I’m still not anywhere near what I want to achieve. That’s what keeps me hungry and driven to keep going.”

Curry has averaged 23.6 points, 7.9 assists, 4.7 rebounds and a league-leading 2.2 steals for the high-flying Warriors and received 42,000 more votes than LeBron James as top All-Star vote-getter.

Golden State coach Steve Kerr, who is directing the All-Star West team, said Curry deserves frontline consideration as the league’s most valuable player.

“Steph is definitely one of the leading candidates,” said Kerr. “He’s great at both ends. His defense is underrated, he’s been really good defensively.

“He’s obviously an amazing shooter, but it’s not just the shots. The penetration, the ball handling, the constant threat that he poses opens other things up for his teammates. He’s a phenomenal player.”

Kerr said Curry, the son of former Charlotte Hornets player Dell Curry, had answered doubters who questioned whether he could excel in the NBA given his willowy physique.

“He’s much stronger, faster and quicker than people realize,” said Kerr. “The opponents realize it, they feel it.”

Curry will be starting in the backcourt with his Warriors running mate Klay Thompson, stepping in for the injured Kobe Bryant. He said he was fully enjoying all the success.

“We’re doing things that haven’t been done in our franchise for 25 years,” said Curry.

“It’s crazy to think about, as the longest tenured Warrior, and I’ve seen the transformation from my rookie year to now. It’s pretty special.”

LeBron James expects big role in next league contract talks

LeBron James expects to be heavily involved in the next labor negotiations with NBA owners after his election as vice president of the Players Association.

“It’s going to be a very important negotiation and process and I think I’m a big part of the process,” James said after the Cleveland Cavaliers star practiced with his East team mates for Sunday’s NBA All-Star Game at Madison Square Garden.

James was unanimously elected first vice president at a meeting of the union on Friday night despite not attending due to a sponsors’ commitment.

“LeBron has been a force to be reckoned with among our players since the man hit the court,” said National Basketball Players Association executive director Michele Roberts.

“We have always wanted to have players of influence be included on our executive committee. It gets your attention.”

Another contentious negotiation could be in the offing in 2017, when the union is expected to opt out of the current collective bargaining agreement following a new $24 billion television deal that could impact player salaries.

Other issues include installation of human growth hormone testing and a revisiting of the one-and-done rule for college players, who now may enter the NBA one season following their high school graduating class.

James would not be drawn into the specific issues.

“We’ll have a game plan. Today is not the time or place to discuss what we need to do as a union. We will get to those matters when it’s time.”

James joins a leadership team that includes union president and good friend Chris Paul of the Los Angeles Clippers.

“If you want to learn about the league and understand what it’s all about, then it should be important to you,” James said.

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