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Is this the NBA's best MVP race of all time?

James Harden of the Houston Rockets. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
Roar Rookie
14th March, 2017
17

If you haven’t picked the NBA MVP this season, you’re not alone – it will go down to the wire.

Last year we were caught off-guard with an unprecedented, unanimous, and slightly ‘meh’ race dominated by Steph Curry in ‘you know what, him shooting from the second tier of the stadium is okay’ form.

This season there is an absolute bevy of superstars having career-best years, with each and every one staking their claim.

Russel Westbrook
Westbrook has been coming in like a wrecking ball all season long and is almost guaranteed to be the first person to average a triple-double since Oscar Robinson in the 1961-62 season.

Don’t underestimate how ridiculous of a feat this is. It was crazy in 1962 and it is even more so now.

Westbrook has an astronomical usage rate of 41 per cent, which is significantly higher than other talented black-hole, one-man offences like DeMarcus Cousins (37%), and Joel Embiid (36%), who round out the top three. Would he be an annoyance to play with? Definitely.

When he is in the mood, Westbrook runs the one-man fast break like a heat seeking missile that goes straight to the rim. It may actually be the most exciting regular play in basketball. Without the cattle around him, the best way for the Thunder to keep winning is to let Russ be Russ and get the hell out of his way. This is shown in the Thunder having the third lowest assist ratio in the league.

However, the job he is doing cannot be understated.

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After coming far too close to the NBA finals, and Kevin Durant deciding to start his next chapter in Oakland, the Thunder were left with Westbrook and a few promising but not game-changing young pieces. Then Victor Oladipo was traded over the offseason for an ageing Surge Ibaka. There is still Steven Adams though, who is the best New Zealand basketballer since, well, ever.

Even with this line-up, the Thunder are outperforming all pre-season expectations, with the tenth best record in the league.

However, the MVP usually comes from one of the best teams, which the Thunder are not. Furthermore, Robinson didn’t win the MVP with his triple-double season in 1962 – he didn’t even come second. Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russel took out second and first respectively, with Robinson coming in at third. Wilt averaged a stupid 50 points and 25 rebounds a game – yeah, you read that right – and Bill Russel led his Boston Celtics to the title.

Oklahoma Citys Russell Westbrook

James Harden
Westbrook’s old teammate and proud owner of the most iconic beard in professional sports is the other main man in this year’s MVP discussions.

Harden is the i95 of the Houston Rockets, who are a gun-slinging offensive juggernaut, with Harden their best player by a crazy-large amount. The Rockets are easily the best offence in the NBA at the moment, with a 116 offensive rating since the all-star break.

Harden has found his basketball soul mate in new coach Mike D’Antoni and is starring in the system, almost averaging a triple-double himself. If it wasn’t for Westbrook’s box-score-stuffing season, we would be discussing Harden’s stats a lot more.

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However, while Harden may be a bull on offence, he is an absolute matador on defence, with the Rockets giving up 106 points per 100 possessions when he is on the floor. This has forever been the main knock on Harden’s game. Previous MVPs weren’t lockdown defenders, but with Harden carrying as much of the load on offence as he is, is it normal that he lets a few past on the other end?

Watching this season’s Rockets play is like watching D’Antoni and Steve Nash’s seven-seconds-or-less Suns on crack, and come playoffs they could be the perfect storm of three-point shooting and foul drawing to take on anybody. The thought of seeing Houston consistently put up 50 three-point attempts a game is on the horizon.

If Harden keeps putting in efforts like the triple-double against the defending champion Cavs, like he did last weekend, he may very well take home this year’s award.

Kawhi Leonard
What does Leonard have to do (besides speak, smile, or show any emotion) to be a bigger consideration for the award?

He is by far the best two-way player on the planet right now and is the main offensive cog in the league-leading Spurs’ machine (while we’re at it, those Spurs annoyingly just keep being great, let somebody else have a go).

However, the NBA is a superstar-driven highlight league and Kawhi may be the least likely superstar in recent years. To say he does his talking on the court is the biggest understatement since “Houston, we’ve had a problem”.

At Spurs University Kawhi has flourished from a defensive stopper with hands a little too large for his body, into an all-round monster that even his greatest fan would not have predicted. Although, more game winning displays like he had last week against the Harden-led Rockets will help his case and launch his name forward to the voters, who may be slow on the uptake.

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If the Spurs hold on to the number one record in the West, which is looking increasingly likely as the Warriors go on an Austin Powers style quest to regain their mojo before the playoffs, then Kawhi Leonard may very well take home the MVP to add to his Finals MVP.

LeBron James
You can’t have a discussion about MVP and not include the best player on the planet. LeBron is doing LeBron things at a level that is up with his best.

Is there Michael Jordan style voter fatigue? Probably. We are spoiled enough to expect LeBron to mess around and put up 26 points, eight rebounds and nine assists most nights, and it is crazy.

LeBron is the best basketball player in the world and if the Most Valuable Player Award was actually called the ‘So Bloody Outstanding That We Aren’t Even Impressed Anymore Award’ – although now I think about it, MVP rolls off the tongue better than the SBOTWAEI – then James would have enough trophies to, well, I am not entirely sure what you would do with that many trophies.

He is averaging more minutes this season – especially before the all-star break – however the Cavs are easily the best team in the East and are now cruising towards the playoffs. Cleveland back themselves to make it to the finals, no matter their final seeding, and this may affect James’ stake at the award.

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Whoever you are backing, make sure you watch the final month of NBA action as the race for playoff position and the MVP heats up.

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