Did you know that Michael Jordan only won the MVP award 5 times in his 15 season career? He is the greatest of all time and only won the award 5 times. With the 2017 NBA season over ¾ of the way finished, it’s time to talk this year’s MVP race.
Overview This year’s MVP will most likely go to Russell Westbrook or James Harden, but don’t count out Kawhi Leonard and Lebron James. Kawhi has led the Spurs to the 50 win mark already, continues to be the lockdown defender that has won two Defensive Player of the Year Awards in a row, and is putting up career numbers on offense. Lebron James is on his way to 7 straight finals appearances and is leading the Cavs to the top of the East. Equally important, he continues to put up triple doubles and staggering number through his back pains and aging.
Who is leading now? According to Neuharth-Keusch, James Harden is in the top position for the MVP right now. The reason why Harden is in the lead is because he leads the league in scoring, assists, and his team is gunning for home court advantage in the West. Westbrook’s Thunder are trying to get home court advantage for the first game, and Russell is averaging a triple double on the season. He will need to continue to lead the Thunder to victory to even have a chance at the MVP (Lynch).
What is the MVP Award? MVP does not go to the best player, but the most valuable one. That is why someone like Steph Curry isn’t in the running for the award this year. Westbrook is obviously very valuable to a Thunder team that could possibly be the worst team in the NBA if they didn’t have him. Harden is also very valuable to the Rockets, and one of the reasons that Harden is most people’s pick for MVP is because he is leading them to victory. Isaiah Thomas is the second leading scorer, and his Celtics are in first place in the East. So why isn’t Isaiah in the MVP race? He leads his team in scoring, but doesn’t rack up the assists, rebounds, and defensive praise that put Harden, Westbrook, Leonard, and James as frontrunners (Fromal). In conclusion, James Harden and Russell Westbrook are leading the MVP race, with Lebron James and Kawhi Leonard not too far behind.