Making An MVP Case For The NBA’s 4 Leading Candidates

1. James Harden

2016-17 Stats:  28.9 PPG, 11.3 APG, 8.0 RPG, 1.5 SPG, 0.5 BPG, .443/.351/.847 shooting, 27.5 PER

If the season ended today, it’d be hard to vote for anyone over James Harden. While Russell Westbrook’s statistical marvel is a once-in-a-lifetime achievement and Kawhi Leonard has both team success and stellar two-way play on his side, Harden has been the NBA’s MVP with a month left in the season.

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In fact, if it weren’t for Russ’ insane triple-double feat, we’d probably be paying much more attention to the fact that the Beard has 17 triple-doubles of his own this season — seven more than that of the next closest player, LeBron James.

Everyone talks about Russ’ path to emulating Oscar Robertson, but it’s worth mentioning that the only player in NBA history to match the 28.9 points, 11.3 rebounds and 8.0 rebounds per game that Harden is currently putting up was also the Big O.

In terms of MVP statement games, people will quickly point out how Kawhi doused the Rockets on both ends of the floor, and they’d be right to do so.

But don’t forget the Beard’s unforgettable 51-point, 13-assist, 13-rebound triple-double against the Philadelphia 76ers, or his 38-11-10 triple-double in a statement win against LeBron’s Cavaliers:

And whatever you do, don’t let his historic 53-17-16 triple-double on New Year’s Eve slip your mind.

Even against the New York Knicks, that kind of stat line is unprecedented.

In addition to leading the league in assists and total win shares, Harden ranks second in minutes, second in BPM, second in VORP, second in assist percentage, third in points per game, fourth in usage percentage, fourth in PER and fourth in win shares per 48 minutes.

He’s not without flaws, as he’s leading the league in turnovers, ranks fourth in missed field goals and will always be something of a liability on the defensive end. But he’s gone back to the 2014-15 James Harden — who was also a legitimate MVP candidate — in that his defense has improved from “abhorrent to the point of going viral” to just “passably bad.”

Considering all he does for that Houston Rockets team, which boasts the NBA’s third-best record, Mike D’Antoni will take a couple of defensive lapses now and then. It’s how this team was constructed, and a middling defense has often been good enough in the wake of an offensive powerhouse.

The Rockets only rank 12th in defensive rating, but their second-ranked offense — centered around the NBA’s most three-point attempts and makes per game — more than makes up for it.

That offensive firepower starts and ends with Harden’s full-time point guard duties as the NBA’s best playmaker, and since the Rockets only rank 15th in three-point efficiency, it’s unfair to automatically assume the Beard has “more help.” Without him, all the open looks disappear and that three-point onslaught gets significantly weaker.

Harden is not only the association’s leading assist man, displaying a higher basketball IQ and ability to bend defenses than ever before, but according to NBA.com, he also leads the league in isolation scoring at 6.5 points per game. Simply put, there has not been an individual playmaker better than James Harden this season.

He still gets to the line more than anyone, leading the NBA in free throws made and attempted. But his ability to create in one-on-one situations, penetrate to find open shooters and make the right pass by reading the weakside defensive rotations is on par with the best facilitators in the game like John Wall and LeBron James.

The fact that Harden has not missed a single game makes him one of the league’s iron men. The fact that a fair amount of people thought Houston would struggle to even make the playoffs matters as well.

Next: 2016-17 NBA Power Rankings: Week 21

From the pure power of his raw statistics to being the driving force behind an offensive powerhouse to his team overachieving, Harden has a unique blend of jaw-dropping numbers, team success and narrative on his side. That could change over the next four weeks, but as of right now, James Harden should be the frontrunner for the 2016-17 MVP Award.