Steph Curry OAKLAND, CA – MAY 16: Stephen Curry #30 of the Golden State Warriors looks on during game one of the NBA Western Conference Finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder at ORACLE Arena on May 16, 2016 in Oakland, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

Last week, Steph Curry became the NBA’s first unanimous MVP in league history after a historic season. The news shocked many former players who came out and spoke against the unanimous voting.

Tracy McGrady said the league was “watered down” and that’s why Curry was unanimous. LeBron James said Curry deserved the award, but didn’t exactly give him a ringing endorsement.

“I think sometimes the word ‘valuable’ or best player of the year, you can have different results,” James, a four-time MVP, said. “You know, that’s not taking anything from anyone that’s ever won the award.'”

Now over a week later, 2013 Basketball Hall of Famer Gary Payton has also spoken out about the unanimous voting results.

Payton told Sports Illustrated and SiriusXM in separate interviews that the unanimous vote is most likely more a reflection of the times and state of the league than Curry’s dominance.

According to Payton, Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar all had seasons worthy of being named the unanimous MVP, but because of the other players in the league, they weren’t.

“I think all of those guys were unanimous decisions, too,” Payton said. “It just happened in an era that went his way.”

The 28-year-old Curry took all 131 first-place votes, which included 130 from a panel of sportswriters and broadcasters. The 131st vote was the KIA MVP Fan Vote. The Warriors’ star finished ahead of Kawhi Leonard and LeBron James, respectively.

James, who finished a distant third, came up in Payton’s interview as well.

“I still think (LeBron’s) the best all-around basketball player,” Payton said. “If you take LeBron off that team, I don’t think Cleveland is a good team like that. If you take Curry off of it, uh, right now I don’t know. They probably would win games. They wouldn’t have won 73, but they would win a lot of basketball games.”

In 2013, James fell a vote shy of being named the unanimous MVP with Carmelo Anthony taking one first-place vote away. Shaquille O’Neal fell a vote shy as well in 2000 thanks to Allen Iverson.

The best point Payton made arguably referenced Chamberlain.

“We forgot Wilt Chamberlain averaged 50 points and 30 rebounds,” Payton said in his SiriusXM interview. “You didn’t think he was a unanimous decision? Who else ever did that and scored 100 points in one game? And he didn’t even win it [in 1962]. That’s what I’m trying to say.

While Curry may not have deserved to be the unanimous MVP when you compare his seasons to those of Chamberlain, James, Jordan, and others, you can’t take the voting results away from him. Curry had an incredible year for a team that broke the all-time wins record and more than deserved every single first-place MVP vote.

[ESPN]

About David Lauterbach

David is a writer for The Comeback. He enjoyed two Men's Basketball Final Four trips for Syracuse before graduating in 2016. If The Office or Game of Thrones is on TV, David will be watching.