Now that the NBA Season is over, the regular season awards are being given out. The most prestigious individual award in the league is the MVP award, which is why it is always the last to be handed out. This season, there are a lot of contenders for the award, because a few players stood out above the rest this year, and we will take a quick look at the contenders, to see which player deserves to be the MVP this year.
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Anthony Davis
The Pelicans’ fans have to be smiling right now, because the franchise’s future is looking very bright. The fact that Davis is just in his third year in the league, and is already in the MVP conversation, shows just how good is has been this year, and if he keeps it up, he will win this award in the near future. He led the Pelicans to the playoffs for the first time since the 2010 season, and was the most efficient player in the NBA this season, finishing with a league leading 30.81 PER. He also averaged career highs in the major stats, averaging 24.4 points, 10.2 rebounds, and 2.9 blocks per game.
Russell Westbrook
Westbrook was a one man wrecking crew in the second half of the season, after Kevin Durant was shut down for the rest of the year. The Thunder remained in playoff contention, despite their slow start to the season, because of Westbrook’s play. They finished with the same record as the New Orleans Pelicans, but did not get a spot in the playoffs because the Pelicans had the tiebreaker edge over them. This season, Russell Westbrook led the league in scoring, and he also had 11 triple doubles, which was the most this season. For the year, he averaged 28.1 points, 8.6 assists and 7.3 rebounds per game, finishing the year with a 29.12 PER. He would have had a better chance of winning if the team made the playoffs.
LeBron James
There is always a case for LeBron James to win the NBA MVP award every season, because he is really that good, this year his scoring dropped a little, but he made up for it with more assists. He led the Cavaliers to the second best record in the Eastern Conference, despite a slow start to the season, and now they are considered the favorite team to win the Conference title. This season, he averaged 25.3 points, 7.4 assists, and 6 rebounds per game, finishing the year with a 26.01 PER.
James Harden
James Harden made one of the best cases for the league MVP this season, because of what he was able to accomplish with the Rockets. The team dealt with some injury issues, especially to Dwight Howard, their other All Star player, but Harden kept them in contention for most of the season, despite the injuries, and eventually led them to the second best record in the Western Conference. He also improved his defensive play, which was one of his biggest weaknesses, and became a more complete player this year. For the season, he averaged 27.4 points, 7 rebounds, and 5.7 assists per game, with a 26.76 PER.
Stephen Curry
Golden State got off to a fast start this season and never looked back, finishing with the best record in the NBA. The biggest reason for their success this season is Stephen Curry, who had one of the best seasons of his short career. He led the team in points, assists, and steals, and has the best chance of winning the award, because the voters tend to reward the best player on the best team with the MVP award. This season, he averaged 23.8 points, 7.7 assists, 2.0 steals, and 4.3 rebounds per game, with a 28.06 PER.
These were the best players in the NBA this reason, regardless of which player wins it, they all had a great season, and deserve the attention that they are receiving.