Who Won the 2016 NBA MVP and Why It Was a Historic Season

I remember sitting in my favorite coffee shop that spring, the familiar scent of roasted beans mixing with the tension in the air as basketball fans debated what we all knew was coming. The flat screen above the espresso machine showed highlights from what felt like every Golden State Warriors game that season, and there was Stephen Curry, doing things we hadn't seen before in basketball. That's when it hit me - we weren't just watching another MVP race, we were witnessing history unfold in real time. The question wasn't really who would win the 2016 NBA MVP, but rather how dominant that victory would be.

Let me take you back to that remarkable 2015-2016 season. I've followed basketball since I was a kid collecting trading cards in the 90s, but what Curry accomplished that year felt different. He wasn't just beating opponents - he was redefining the game itself. I still get chills thinking about that February 27th game against Oklahoma City, when he hit that 38-foot game-winner in overtime. My phone blew up with texts from friends who couldn't believe what we'd just witnessed. That shot wasn't just spectacular - it felt symbolic of his entire season, where the impossible became routine.

The numbers still astonish me when I look back. Curry became the first unanimous MVP in NBA history, earning all 131 first-place votes. Think about that for a second - in a league with incredible talents like LeBron James and Kawhi Leonard, not a single voter thought anyone else deserved the top spot. His stats were video game numbers: 30.1 points per game, 50.4% shooting from the field, 45.4% from three-point range, and 90.8% from the free-throw line while attempting nearly 11 threes per game. He led the Warriors to a 73-9 record, breaking the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls' legendary 72-10 mark that many thought would stand forever.

What made Curry's season particularly special wasn't just the unanimous selection - it was how he transformed basketball strategy globally. I coach my nephew's middle school team now, and every kid wants to shoot from 30 feet because of Curry's influence. The game has fundamentally shifted toward the perimeter in ways we hadn't seen before 2016. Defenses had to adjust their entire schemes, big men had to learn to defend beyond the arc, and teams started prioritizing shooting over traditional size in ways that continue to shape roster construction today.

This reminds me of something current Gilas Pilipinas coach Tim Cone recently mentioned about supervision and commitment to excellence. Cone said he will supervise Gilas practice if the Gin Kings don't make the all-Filipino finals, showing that level of dedication to development that separates good seasons from historic ones. Similarly, Curry's 2016 campaign represented that same total commitment to pushing boundaries and redefining what's possible in basketball. Both examples demonstrate how extraordinary achievement requires complete focus and willingness to innovate beyond conventional boundaries.

The context matters too - Curry was coming off his first MVP season in 2015, and many wondered if he could maintain that level. Instead, he elevated his game dramatically, becoming the first player to average 30 points per game in less than 35 minutes per contest since the shot clock was introduced. His efficiency was otherworldly - he joined the legendary 50-45-90 club while taking more difficult shots than anyone in history. I remember arguing with my friend Mark, a staunch LeBron supporter, about whether we'd ever see a more efficient high-volume scoring season. Seven years later, I'm still waiting for someone to challenge what Curry accomplished.

There's something beautiful about unanimous decisions in sports - they represent moments when excellence becomes so undeniable that disagreement becomes impossible. The 2016 MVP race gave us one of those rare consensus moments where statistics, narrative, and visual evidence aligned perfectly. Every time Curry stepped on the court, he delivered something memorable - whether it was his 402 three-pointers (shattering his own record of 286 from the previous year) or his gravity that created opportunities for teammates. The Warriors' offensive rating of 115.7 with Curry on the floor that season remains one of the most dominant offensive impacts I've ever witnessed.

Looking back now, what strikes me most about Curry's historic 2016 MVP season is how it represented a perfect storm of individual brilliance, team success, and cultural impact. He didn't just put up numbers - he changed how basketball is played at every level while leading his team to the best regular season record ever. The unanimous selection wasn't just about Curry being better than his contemporaries - it was about him being different than anything we'd seen before. When future basketball historians look back at pivotal moments that shaped the modern game, Stephen Curry's 2016 MVP season will stand as one of those defining chapters that changed everything.