2016-17 NBA Awards Season: Ranking The Top 4 MVP Candidates
James Harden vs. Russell Westbrook
Leaving Kawhi Leonard at No. 3 was hard enough as it is, but choosing between James Harden and Russell Westbrook is like choosing between chocolate and vanilla ice cream — an age-old dilemma with no right or wrong answer, but one that quickly incites debate, disbelief and rage no matter which side you choose.
As is the case with ice cream, “both” feels like the more acceptable answer. If the voting somehow miraculously ended in a tie and Harden and Westbrook were co-MVPs, that might be the most fitting end to one of the closest races in league history.
But since that’s highly unlikely to happen with the way the voting is set up, and since ties are un-American, we’re here to sort this ordeal out between the Houston Rockets‘ offensive maestro and the Oklahoma City Thunder‘s triple-double machine.
To find the dividing line between these two neck-and-neck candidates, we’ll be taking a look at 10 distinct categories that are relevant in this MVP discussion: the raw numbers, shooting efficiency, defense, team success, expectations, value to their team, narrative, history/accolades, who owned the season and potential flaws in their MVP candidacy. We start with the basics.
The Numbers
Both Westbrook and Harden played in 81 games, so they’re on level ground in that respect. Russ put up 31.6 points, 10.7 rebounds and 10.4 assists and 1.6 steals per game, ranking him first, 10th, third and 12th in those respective categories. He also ranked first in rebounds among all guards.
Harden, meanwhile, averaged 29.1 points, 11.2 assists, 8.1 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game, ranking him second, first, 23rd and 16th in those categories. He ranked second in rebounds among all guards, putting them pretty close to neck-and-neck.
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Harden leads the league in made free throws (746) and free throw attempts (881), but Westbrook is not far behind in second place in both categories (710 and 840, respectively).
Harden also finished third in minutes (2,947), third in made threes (262), first in offensive win shares (11.5) and first in total win shares (15.0) to hold the edge over Russ, who finished eighth in minutes (2,802), 11th in made threes (200), ninth in offensive win shares (8.5) and fourth in total win shares (13.1).
However, Russ holds the edge in several advanced categories as well, ranking first in Player Efficiency Rating (30.6), assist percentage (57.3), usage percentage (41.7), Box Plus-Minus (15.5) and Value Over Replacement Player (12.4). Harden comes in at fifth for PER (27.3), second for assist percentage (50.7), fourth in usage percentage (34.2), second in Box Plus-Minus (10.1) and second in VORP (9.0).
Are you sensing a theme? These guys are both clearly elite and they’re pretty close in almost every category, but Westbrook has to be given a slight advantage here.