NBA Awards Watch: James Harden vs. Stephen Curry For MVP

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Mar 29, 2015; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook (0) adjusts his facemark in the second quarter against the Phoenix Suns at US Airways Center. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports /

3. Russell Westbrook

59 games, 34.0 MPG, 27.6 PPG, 8.6 APG, 7.2 RPG, 2.2 SPG, .425/.297/.846 shooting, 29.3 PER

Last week: 2 (⇓1)

Kevin Durant is out for the season. The Oklahoma City Thunder are probably going to hang on and make the playoffs with Durant only playing 27 games and Serge Ibaka being banged up. Russell Westbrook is nearly putting up a 28-9-7 stat line with the highest PER outside of the Brow’s unbelievable mark. The conditions are perfect for Westbrook to win an MVP Award.

Except, not really. Westbrook has been sensational, don’t get me wrong. He’s also one of the NBA’s most entertaining players, hands down. But his shot hasn’t been particularly efficient and in games without KD this season, the Thunder are a meager 24-23. No one should compare this to when Durant carried the Thunder without Westbrook last year.

Westbrook has become a triple-double machine and when the Thunder face the Golden State Warriors in the first round, he’s OKC’s best shot at keeping the series interesting. But our top two candidates have not only played way more games, but they’ve been far more efficient and have a bigger team success factor going for them too.

Next: No. 2 - Chef Curry