Who will challenge Westbrook in the MVP race?

[Gooch1034]

Obviously, Westbrook is the leading candidate and assuming he can stay healthy, who will give him a run for his money?

Davis?
Harden?
Cousins?
DeRozan?
Lillard?
Curry?
Durant?
LeBron?


Harden is my pick to give Westbrook the biggest challenge. GS has too many big guns for 1 of them to get singled out enough to be a serious candidate.

 

[Ojb81]

Tony Snell

 

[HurricaneDij39]

LeBron.

 

[Gooch1034]

Tony Snell

Followed closely behind by Luke Babbitt.

 

[msgkings322]

LeBron and Harden will get votes. Pelicans have to make the playoffs for Davis to be in the mix. But it's probably Westbrook's unless the Thunder miss the playoffs.

 

[tlance]

Honestly, what Durant is doing is every bit as impressive. It will depend on what the voters value most:

Best player: LeBron
Most impressive stats: Westbrook
Efficiency: Durant

I think Westbrook wins because nobody has ever done what he is doing, but it SHOULD be a close vote.

 

[CitySushi]

Honestly, what Durant is doing is every bit as impressive. It will depend on what the voters value most:

Best player: LeBron
Most impressive stats: Westbrook
Efficiency: Durant

I think Westbrook wins because nobody has ever done what he is doing, but it SHOULD be a close vote.

Just look at these stats for Kevin Durant:

Minutes Per Game: 34.5 (career low, excluding the one year he was hurt and played in only 27 games).
Shot Attempts Per Game: 16.9 (career low)
Points Per Game: 27.0
FG%: 56.5% (career high by more than 8% over career average with OKC)
Rebounds Per Game: 8.4 (career high)
Assists Per Game: 4.7
Steals Per Game: 1.5 (career high)
Blocks Per Game: 1.8 (career high)
Turnovers: 2.2 (career low)
Usage %: 27.3 (career low)

Durants EFG% is nearly 100 points HIGHER than his 9 year average with OKC.

Those are insane when you think about his contributions thus far during the season. I'm not saying he should be in the MVP conversation, just his efficiency has skyrocketed.

 

[Ball Up All Star]

James Harden and Demarr DeRozen.

 

[WiggyRuss]

LeBron

the game's best player should always be in that conversation even if voter fatigue goes against his chances.

 

[bksballer89]

Easily Harden.

 

[handicappers]

LeBron James, obviously. He is clearly the best player, but OKC would completely fall apart without Westbrook. Same with the ROckets and Harden.

 

[thunderc]

Lebron is becoming less clear as the best player with every passing game.

 

[DrewScott]

Porzing.....ahhh forget it.

 

[msgkings322]

LeBron

the game's best player should always be in that conversation even if voter fatigue goes against his chances.

Yep. Just as Jordan should have won 6-7 MVPs but didn't because of voter fatigue, LeBron should have about 5 now.

 

[Hornsstampede2.0]

LEBRON is the best player in the league and it is not that close

He goes to the finals every freaking year no matter who his teammates are it seems.

He is probably a bit bored with the regular season.

He could put up Westbrook numbers if he really wanted to do so, but he is about collecting rings now

When LBJ doesn't win it, it is the Karl Malone or Charles Barkley voter fatigue moment.

 

[trojanfan12]

Tristan Kardashian

 

[wildturkey]

Tony Snell

Well played, sir.

 

[WiggyRuss]

LEBRON is the best player in the league and it is not that close

He goes to the finals every freaking year no matter who his teammates are it seems.

He is probably a bit bored with the regular season.

He could put up Westbrook numbers if he really wanted to do so, but he is about collecting rings now

When LBJ doesn't win it, it is the Karl Malone or Charles Barkley voter fatigue moment.

while i think a little bit of boredom does play in- i think the main thing holding him back from an MVP will be his maintenance program. He is not going to be playing 38 minutes a night- he is not going to play in every single game--- not only that- but right now he is not even the leading scorer on his team (Kyrie is).

He is definitely the best player in the league right now- I mean there is absolutely no one anyone could possibly say- I WANT THAT GUY- over LeBron if you were trying to win the title....but its gonna be hard for him to win the MVP sharing the ball as much as he does, and with his ongoing maintenance program the Cavs have set out for him.

and seriously- with how great Westbrook is and what he is doing- i could see the argument for him. Its logical- as was the arguments for Steph last year. I think when all is said and done- its pretty much understood around the league between the players, all the coaches and assistants, the GM's, etc., who the King of the NBA is- but that doesnt necessarily win you the MVP.

 

[Logicallylethal]

Scoring and overall pace is through the roof this year. Currently 25 teams are averaging over 100 ppg

11 teams are averaging over 105 ppg

Just in 06 there was only 9 teams over 100 ppg and 2 over 105 ppg

As impressive as Westbrook's overall numbers are this year, a lot of it has to do with the evolution of the game. In my opinion the best players in the game are still Lebron, KD, and Steph and then it's Westbrook, Harden, or Anthony Davis.

The MVP is Westbrook's to lose. But I think a lot of people are overlooking what KD is doing. He's been averaging 27 ppg while shooting 56-57 % all year. I think if KD wanted to average 35 this year in that Warriors system he could easily do it and probably still shoot 50 %, but he's not playing for stats.

Same with Lebron. His stats while still great, will never truly show his true value to his team. He is always making the best basketball play for his team not trying to force an assist at the expense of his team or not contesting a shot to sit in the paint for a rebound. Westbrook has been guilty of that in some games and his turnover avg is a good indicator of that.

Great player but stats are a bit inflated across the board. I don't think Westbrook's triple double year is any better than Lebron or KD's previous mvp year. It's like saying Kirk Cousins throwing for 4000 yds in this era is better than Dan Marino throwing for 4000 yds in his era.

 

[trojanfan12]

LeBron

the game's best player should always be in that conversation even if voter fatigue goes against his chances.

Imo, there should be 2 awards. Most Valuable Player and Most Outstanding Player. When I think of Most Valuable Player, I think the player who means the most to his team. In other words, what is that team like if you remove that player?

Most Outstanding Player would be the leagues best player. Sometimes, that can be the same guy. If you look at Lebron's first stint in Cleveland, he was both the Most Valuable Player and the Most Outstanding Player for at least 4 and probably 5 of those years. During the past 6 years with Miami and Cleveland, he has been the Most Outstanding Player, but not the most valuable.

If you take Westbrook off of the Thunder, their record is likely down there with Philly and Dallas. If you take Lebron off the Cavs, they're still a playoff team in the East.