Who is the MVP according to handful of NBA players? James Harden.
On Monday, Sam Amick of The Athletic published the anonymous opinion of 122 NBA players, and a whopping 44.3 percent believe the Houston Rockets star should take home his second straight MVP:
- Harden (44.3 percent)
- Giannis Antetokounmpo (38.9 percent)
- Paul George 12.7 percent)
- Joel Embiid (1.7 percent)
- T-Kyrie Irving, Damian Lillard, Kawhi Leonard (1 percent)
Harden won the MVP from both the media and players last year for the 2018-17 season. He and Giannis are the favorites to take home the honors this season in a race that is at this moment, a complete toss-up between the two.
Harden not only saved the Rockets season at the beginning of 2019 during a rash of injuries to his teammates, but he’s simply showing why he is one of the best scorers in NBA history. He leads the league with an average of 36.1 points per game, which is also seventh-most in NBA history.
He’s broken a slew of record this year and is also averaging 7.6 assists, 6.6 rebounds and two steals per game. On Sunday, he officially joined Michael Jordan as the only two players to average at least 30 points, seven assists, five rebounds and two steals in a season.
Meanwhile, Giannis is averaging 27.7 points, 12.5 rebounds, 5.9 assists, 1.5 blocks and 1.3 steals per game and is on pace to become the first player since Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to average 27 points, 12 rebounds and five assists per game, something that only Oscar Robertson, Wilt Chamberlain and Elgin Baylor have accomplished. The Milwaukee Bucks also have the best record in the NBA thanks to Giannis.
