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NBA: Does the East or West have more star power now?

By Josh Cornelissen

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JANUARY 16: James Harden #13 of the Brooklyn Nets dribbles during the first half against the Orlando Magic at Barclays Center on January 16, 2021 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JANUARY 16: James Harden #13 of the Brooklyn Nets dribbles during the first half against the Orlando Magic at Barclays Center on January 16, 2021 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images) /
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NBA, James Harden (Photo by Johnny Nunez/Getty Images for Turner Sports)
NBA, James Harden (Photo by Johnny Nunez/Getty Images for Turner Sports) /

NBA MVP Power

There are seven active players who have won the NBA’s MVP award. Five of those seven now play in the Eastern Conference. That includes James Harden and Kevin Durant on the Brooklyn Nets, Russell Westbrook on the Washington Wizards, Giannis Antetokounmpo on the Milwaukee Bucks and Derrick Rose on the Detroit Pistons.

Only Antetokounmpo is on the same team he won the MVPs for, while the rest have changed teams at least once since. Of that group Rose is now a low-level starter, but the rest have been in the All-NBA mix sometime in the last two seasons. Harden, Durant and Antetokounmpo all have a chance to be in the MVP discussion at season’s end.

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Going a little deeper, what percentage of players who finished in the MVP’s top-5 in voting over the last twelve years now play in the East? There are 17 such players, led by LeBron James with an incredible 11 top-five finishes in the last twelve seasons. Of those 17, just seven are in the Eastern Conference (the last-place Detroit Pistons have two!).

James is in the West, but the next three players with the most top-five finishes are all in the Eastern Conference; the former Oklahoma City Thunder trio of Harden, Durant and Westbrook. Players such as Rose and Dwight Howard are in the East as they hang around the league in the twilight of their careers.

The last two MVP awards belong to the East, as do the last three winners, and four of the last five. Judging solely by MVP firepower, the Eastern Conference leads the pack now.

Verdict: Advantage East