Over the past few years, the winner of the NBA MVP Award has been obvious as the time to vote drew near, perhaps just one or two outstanding candidates making their case to the panel of journalists tasked with picking the one they felt most deserved the honour. Steph Curry took home the trophy in each of the past two seasons, the Golden State guard recognised for the way his deadly shooting and on-ball skills pushed the Warriors to new heights.
However, this season has seen four players deliver compelling arguments to have the trophy handed to them with each seemingly swaying the momentum back in their favour each time they take to the floor. It is hard to imagine anyone tasked with picking this year’s triumphant star will not have James Harden, Russell Westbrook, Kawhi Leonard and Lebron James on their ballot in some order, but selecting one of them ahead of the others is a remarkably difficult challenged.
Over the next week, The Sportsman will be laying out the reasons why each of those players deserves to be recognised as the league’s Most Valuable Player, outlining their contribution to their team’s success and the narrative arc their season has followed.
Read Part I: Russell Westbrook
James Harden
Our next feature looks at the case of Houston guard James Harden, who like Russell Westbrook has had to cope with the team around him being completely reshaped after the departure of a star player. However, while the Oklahoma City Thunder were shaken to the core by Kevin Durant’s decision to leave in free agency, the Rockets were unquestionably relieved to see Dwight Howard leave town.
At the same time, the team brought Mike D’Antoni in as Coach, the architect of the Steve Nash “Seven Seconds Or Less” Phoenix Suns shifting Harden into a point guard role. In making the bearded star his primary ball handler, the offensive guru has tapped into some previously unrealised potential and Harden has sparked an incredible turnaround for the Rockets.
He has become the NBA's leader in assists per game (11.3), while outperforming Westbrook in terms of field-goal percentage, three-point percentage and free-throw percentage. Harden is also averaging 28.9 points, 8.0 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game, while Houston have the league’s third-best net rating at plus-6.1.
By way of reference, the Thunder have a negative net rating on the season and sit much further down the standings than a Rockets team that hold the third best record in the Western Conference. Harden is clearly not matching Westbrook's burst of triple-doubles, but his per game averages and vastly superior efficiency mark him out as a contender for the award.
Narrative
In short, Harden’s story is one of transformation. In terms of MVP statement games, he dropped a 51-point, 13-assist, 13-rebound triple-double against the Philadelphia 76ers, and a 38-11-10 triple-double in a statement win against LeBron James’ Cleveland Cavaliers. Of course, there was also a historic 53-17-16 outburst on New Year’s Eve which – even though it came against the awful New York Knicks – is an unprecedented stat line.
He’s not without flaws of course, leading the league in turnovers, sits fourth in missed field goals and will always be something of a liability on the defensive end, but Harden has at least gone back to just being a poor defender rather than the viral vine-worthy effort of last season.
He gets to the foul line more than anyone in the NBA, making more and attempting more free throws than any other player in the league, but he has now allied that to an ability to penetrate, find open shooters and make the right pass by reading the weakside defensive rotations.
Last season Houston was 41-41 and missed the playoffs, with many people expecting a similar return this year, only for James Harden to ram those doubts down the throats of his critics and deliver a campaign that deserves MVP-level recognition.
