Top 5 NBA MVP Scoring Encores
OAKLAND (CBS SF) – After winning an NBA title and league MVP crown last season, you would think that Golden State Warriors guard Steph Curry might just kick back a bit in the off-season.
But kicking back is not in Curry's DNA.
Instead, he actually increased his grueling workout schedule while still maintaining a busy off-season spending time with his family and his ever growing stable of corporate sponsors.
The result has been a record-setting season for himself and the Warriors.
He already has become the first NBA player to connect on 300 three-pointers in a season while Golden State has set new marks for the fastest start of a NBA regular season and consecutive wins at home.
And at 56-6 Golden State is on pace to eclipse the all-time regular season mark of 72 wins set by the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls.
Curry may also become the NBA's all-time best at improving his offensive talents in a season following winning an NBA MVP award.
Currently, the Warrior marksman is scoring at a 30.7 point per game pace. That's a 6.7 percent increase over his 23.8 points per game during his MVP season last year and an all-time league best.
Here are the next four MVPs who increase their scoring output the season after winning the award.
Larry Bird
The Boston Celtic great scored at 24.2 points per game clip during his 1983-84 MVP season. He followed that up with a 28.7 points per game output during the 1984-85 season for a 4.5 percent increase.
Steve Nash
The Phoenix Suns point guard had a 15.5 points per game scoring average during his 2004-2005 MVP season and followed up with a second MVP award in 2005-2006 where he scored at an 18.8 pace for a 3.3 percent increase.
Lew Alcindor (Kareem Abdul Jabbar)
Before the name change, Alcindor was dominating in the middle during the 1970-71 season averaging 31.7 points a game for the Milwaukee Bucks. The next year, he was even better, scoring 34.8 point a game for a 3.1 percent increase.
Kareem Abdul Jabbar
During the 1973-74 season, Abdul Jabbar scored at a 27.0 per game clip and won the MVP award again. The following year he improved those numbers to 30.0 points a game for a 3 percent increase.
