The NBA season has been full of surprises and this has led to some very impressive individual performances. There are a number of worthy candidates for this years NBA MVP award. Let’s take a closer look at some of the front runners.

James Harden

Harden is the clear favorite to win this years MVP award. He has not only put up impressive stats but he has led his team to an NBA best 58-14 record comfortably ahead of the championship favorite Golden State Warriors. He has upped his scoring 2 PPG from last season and while his assists are down slightly this can be attributed to the addition of Chris Paul who is averaging a healthy 8 assists per game. He arguably could have won this award last season but lost out to Russell Westbrook.

Russell Westbrook

PPG: 25.4 AST: 10.2 REB: 9.7 STL: 1.8

Westbrook is the reigning MVP of the league. Last Season he became the first player to average a triple double since Oscar Robertson accomplished that feat over 55 year ago. Amazingly, his stats are very similar to those he put up last year when he averaged 31.6 points, 10.7 Rebounds, and 10.4 assists and took home the MVP award. This season he obtained some help when the Thunder traded for Paul George and Carmello Anthony. His PPG are down, but that’s expected with the scoring help they’ve acquired. Another blemish, if there is one, is that even with the added help his team is on pace for 49 wins after winning 47 in last year’s campaign.

Lebron James

PPG: 27.4 AST: 9.1 REB 8.6 STL: 1.5

Lebron James is perpetually at the top of the list in the MVP race year in and year out. That’s because he’s always putting up MVP worthy stats. He’s added to his case this year by playing every game for the Cavaliers proving to be supremely durable. However, even with his impressive stats and durability this season, his team has not seen the success they’ve routinely enjoyed. They are currently over 10 games out of first place in the east when they’ve typically been right at the top since he returned from the Heat. While he is putting up great stats, this has come to be the expectation from James making it harder for him to stand out. As a result, he has not won this award since 2013.

Anthony Davis

PPG: 28.2 REB: 11.1 AST: 2.3 BLK: 2.4

Anthony Davis has had a solid year but he’s really come on strong of late. In the 15 games since the All Star Break he’s averaging 31.1 points, 12.5 rebounds, and 3.47 blocks per game. He has also led the Pelicans into the 5th spot in the western conference with a chance of climbing even higher. He’s managed to play his way into being one of the top contenders for the MVP award. If he keeps playing at this high level through the end of the year expect him to be right there in contention for the award.

I’d also like to make some honorable mentions that include Damian Lillard, Giannis Antetokounmpo, DeMar DeRozan, Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and Stephen Curry. Each have had success this year but not quite up to the level of those I’ve mentioned above. They’ve either been plagued by injuries, not enjoyed team success, or just haven’t quite put up the statistics of the other contenders I discussed above.

_{Author: Hive account@sevendst19}
_{Editor: Hive account@bacchist}