Most years, accomplishing a feat that hasn't been done in 55 years--as Russell Westbrook has done by averaging a triple-double--would make you the obvious candidate to win NBA MVP. Not this season.
While Westbrook, who is averaging a league-best 31.9 points per contest to go with 10.7 rebounds and 10.4 assists, is still regarded as the favorite, there is a trio of studs who have made things extremely difficult for the voters.
James Harden doesn't the allure of the triple-double average, but if he's certainly not that far off with numbers of 29.1 points, 11.2 assists and 8.1 rebounds. Orchestrating the league's second-most efficient offense doesn't hurt, either. “The numbers are very close,” Rockets guard Eric Gordon told ESPN's Calvin Watkins. “Westbrook might average two points more or two rebounds more. That’s not really much. Both having fantastic years. No way, I don’t believe, there’s no way [Harden] would straight up lose it.”
Kawhi Leonard is putting up 25.7 points, 5.8 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.8 steals per game while serving as arguably the best perimeter defender in the league and leading the Spurs to the second-best record in the NBA.
And, of course, the annual MVP conversation (or debate or screaming match or whatever you prefer) wouldn't be complete without the inclusion of LeBron James. The 32-year-old is putting up perhaps the most under-the-radar 26.4-8.6-8.7 in history. He's setting career-highs in assists and rebounds, and he's been more efficient (61.9 true shooting percentage) than any of the other candidates.
While Steph Curry ran away with the MVP in unanimous fashion last year, thins are far less clear-cut this time around. Each of the aforementioned four players has a case for MVP, and each have blemishes in the resume. You can click through the gallery for a closer look at the argument for each candidate. (Getty)
Russell Westbrook
Why He Should Win MVP: That whole averaging a triple-double thing is kind of a big deal. Oscar Robertson, who last accomplished the feat in 1962, certainly thinks so. He wrote: "My (MVP) vote is for Westbrook, and here's why: 1, He took over the offense for the Oklahoma City Thunder after Kevin Durant’s blockbuster departure for the Golden State Warriors as a free agent changed the team’s composition. 2, This season, he beats any other guard in a head-to-head matchup. 3, Most important, he should be rewarded for his outstanding play this season and his career-making individual accomplishments."
If you don't like triple-doubles, Westbrook checks off several metrics stats, as well. He leads the NBA in player efficiency rating (30.8), box plus/minus (15.6) and value over replacement player (12.4). By most statistical measures he has been the league's best player, and by all eye tests, he has been the league's most exciting player.
Why He Might Not Win MVP: Though MVP is technically an individual award, team performance is undoubtedly always a big factor. As such, the Thunder being sixth in the West standings and 16th in the NBA in offensive efficiency stands as the biggest criticisms towards Westbrook. It's almost unfair that he hasn't missed any games, so we can't see how bad the Thunder almost assuredly would have been without his dominance, but nevertheless it doesn't help when the other three candidates' teams are all right near the top of the standings. (Getty)
James Harden
Why He Should Win MVP: A triple-double is arbitrary. When it comes down to it, in the scope of a 48-minute game, is there really that big of a difference in a point guard averaging 10.7 rebounds per game and a point guard averaging 8.1 rebounds per game? Westbrook is getting praise for averaging a triple-double, but what if he only averaged 9.9 rebounds per game? He wouldn't have the triple-double average, but he would still be pretty much having the exact same remarkable season.
In that sense, Harden averaging just 2.8 points and 2.6 rebounds less per game than Westbrook probably shouldn't be such a big deal, especially when he's averaging more assists (11.2 vs. 10.4), has a better true-shooting percentage (.612 vs. .555), and is the engine behind the West's No. 3 team and the league's No. 2 most efficient offense.
Why He Might Not Win MVP: Mike D'Antoni's system. Many voters may discredit Harden's overall numbers because the Rockets' up-tempo style (third in the league in pace) can lead to inflated numbers, pointing to other guards who have put up huge stats in his offense.
Also, defense. Though he is averaging 1.5 steals per game, the Rockets are just 17th in defensive rating, while Harden allows opponents to shoot 1.1 percent better than average. In actuality, those numbers aren't terrible (the latter is better than Westbrook), but Harden's reputation as a poor defender could hurt him. (Getty)
Kawhi Leonard
Why He Should Win MVP: He's the ultimate two-way player. Offensively, he's averaging 25.7 points per game with a true-shooting percentage of 61.2. He has a reputation for being a product of Gregg Popovich's system, but he has a usage rate of 28.1 (eighth-highest in the NBA) for a team that is seventh in the NBA in offensive efficiency. In other words, he's the clear go-to option on one of the league's best offenses.
Defensively, he's arguably the league's best perimeter defender. Take this amazing stat, per ESPN's Tom Haberstroh, for example: In clutch situations (fourth quarter or OT, less than five minutes left, and neither team ahead by more than five points), LeBron James, Russell Westbrook, James Harden and Paul George are a combined 7-of-27 (25.9 percent) from the field with a negative-37 plus/minus vs. the Spurs, and a majority of the time, they were being guarded by Kawhi.
Why He Might Not Win MVP: Well, it seems to be the year of the triple-double, and he's the only one of these four candidates who hasn't racked up a ton of them. In fact, he hasn't had a single one, and his secondary stats (5.8 rebounds, 3.5 assists) are certainly lacking relative to the others. Moreover, while his offense has been tremendous, his strongest case over the likes of Westbrook and Harden is his defense, but that is ultimately the most difficult aspect of the game to quantify. That will really hurt when it comes to some voters. (Getty)
LeBron James
Why He Should Win MVP: He's in the same stratosphere as Westbrook and Harden in terms of the triple-double stats (26.4 points, 8.6 rebounds, 8.7 assists), so that gets him into the conversation. While Westbrook is the first player in 55 years to average a triple-double, James is going to be the first to average 25, 8 and 8 while shooting at least 50 percent from the field since some guy named Michael Jordan in 1989.
Moreover, if you want to quantify "most valuable" by on/off splits, LeBron would get the nod. When he's on the court, the Cavs have a net rating of plus-7.7, and when he's off the court, they are negative-8.2, giving him a positive difference of 15.9 points per 100 possessions. Westbrook is close at 13.1, while Kawhi and http://stats.nba.com/team/#!/1610612745/onoffcourt-advanced/ are at just 2.0 and 1.9, respectively.
Why He Might Not Win MVP: Team performance again comes into play. While the Cavs are second in the East, they've stumbled down the stretch, they've lost three in a row and they only have five more wins than the Thunder. Though that certainly hasn't been LeBron's fault, it will come into play when the race is this tight. (Getty)
NBA MVP Race 2017: Breaking Down the Top Candidates