How the NBA's Top MVP Candidates Stack Up in the History Books
Stephen Curry and James Harden will have us believe that the NBA's MVP race is over, but let's bathe in historical perspective as if they're wrong.
Even though they're not.
In what will go down as one of the wackiest MVP chases ever, Curry and Harden are indeed miles ahead of the competition. But LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Russell Westbrook and Chris Paul all figured heavily into the MVP discussion for much of this season, and MVP conversations aren't solely celebrations of late-season surges and separation, regardless of which players emerge as foremost favorites or who actually wins.
In this case, the MVP field is a celebration of history. Each candidate—presented in order of increasing MVP chances—is pinning himself to historical company in some way. And in lieu of actually securing the Maurice Podoloff Trophy, joining legendary ranks is the next best thing.
Besides, we still don't actually know who's going to win. And until we do, every eligible superstar, long shot or favorite, deserves an MVP-level fist bump—distinctive dap we will give them by sifting through our history books.
Russell Westbrook, Oklahoma City Thunder
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Mixed emotions are a symptom of watching Westbrook.
On the one hand, he's passionate to a fault, and his Oklahoma City Thunder are statistically no better with him on the floor since Kevin Durant last played. On the other hand, his individual stat lines leave us waiting for the mother ship to call him home.
Entering his final tilt, Westbrook is averaging 28.0 points, 7.3 rebounds, 8.6 assists and 2.1 steals per game. The last—and only—player to sustain those benchmarks for an entire season: Michael Jordan.
Rumor has it that guy could ball. As can Westbrook.
As for why he's not higher up the food chain here, Bleacher Report's Grant Hughes has all the answers:
"It's probably not fair to say Westbrook wanted a chance to play like this, all alone with no legitimate reason to share the ball or operate within a system. But on some level, it almost feels like this is what he was built for.
Unfortunately, in an era where we celebrate systems and team play (see: widespread adoration of the San Antonio Spurs), it's only right to knock a guy for basically ignoring his teammates and trying to do everything himself.
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None of this would matter if Westbrook's individual heroics were translating into wins. But the Thunder are still clinging to postseason life, their ceiling capped at a No. 8 seed and the ceremonial first-round exit the Golden State Warriors would invariably deliver.
Each of the last 30 MVPs also hailed from a team that finished no worse than third in its conference, debilitating Westbrook's MVP clout even further. Still, no one one can take away his greatest accomplishment yet: making Jordan his statistical best friend.
Chris Paul, Los Angeles Clippers
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No, MVP candidates should not be flying under the radar.
Yes, that's what Paul is still doing.
It's easy to take the point man's greatness for granted. He's been so good for so long, we're liable to forget or overlook just how incredibly incredible he remains—hence the importance of perspective.
Paul will finish this season averaging at least 18 points, 10 assists and 1.5 steals per game for the fifth time of his career. Only one other player has ever done the same: Magic Johnson.
That alone does not encapsulate Paul's MVP case, but it's not supposed to. The other aspects of his season take care of that argument. As NBA.com's Sekou Smith writes:
"The Clippers are working on home-court advantage in the first round, something Paul knows will help the cause for a team seeking a long playoff run. Yet none of the Clippers' recent success is even a remote possibility this season without the yeoman's effort turned in by Paul over the course of the past three months. He's done it all, too, while the Clippers dealt with their litany of injury issues to key rotation players.
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Few players have been as important to their teams over the years, let alone this season. Paul will appear in every game for the first time of his career, ranks second in win shares (16.1), checks in at sixth in player efficiency rating (26.0) and remains the Los Angeles Clippers' primal draw. Without him, they aren't title contenders.
Not that this is anything new. Paul is merely doing what he's always done: impacting the game as one of the greatest point guards ever.
Anthony Davis, New Orleans Pelicans
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Anthony Davis needs but a second to warp perception of human limits as you know them.
Comparisons don't exist for him anymore, nor did they truly ever. He's someone the NBA has never seen and is still trying to understand, as his numbers—both this season and for his career—show.
The 22-year-old is set to become just the fourth player with a PER of 31 or higher, definitively tethering him to Wilt Chamberlain, Michael Jordan and LeBron James forever...in only his third season.
There is no overstating that feat. James did not crack 30 on the PER scale until his sixth season. David Robinson first did it in his fifth, and Jordan in his fourth. Chamberlain is the only player to reach 30 by his third year.
Assuming he records two blocks in his final game, Davis will join Hakeem Olajuwon and Robinson as the only players to total at least 3,500 points, 1,500 rebounds, 250 steals and 500 swats through his first three seasons. More historical street cred.
Indeed, he won't actually win MVP honors. The New Orleans Pelicans aren't good enough, and he's missed 14 games, a patented no-no when it comes to MVP voting.
But we watch Davis much like fans presumably watched Chamberlain. He was an outlier, a player light years ahead of his NBA brethren in ability and statistical performance.
Just like Davis is now.
LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers
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Seven: The number of times James—including this season—has averaged at least 25 points, six rebounds, seven assists and 1.5 steals per game.
Three: The number of times every other player in league history—including this season—has averaged at least 25 points, six rebounds, seven assists and 1.5 steals per game.
Zero: The number of players, beside James, to eclipse 24,000 points, 6,500 rebounds, 6,000 assists and 1,500 steals through their first 12 seasons.
Your thoughts on this, as well as everything James, Mr. J.R. Smith (per ESPN.com's Dave McMenamin):
"In actuality, if you really wanted to, you could give it to him every year. I mean, the numbers, what he does for teams. You see one year removed from a team like Miami -- and they probably won't even make the playoffs -- to a team that hasn't made the playoffs since he left and then, all of the sudden, we're a 52-win team. So I don't think you can do that with anybody else that's in our league right now.
Not to knock anything from the other two guys [Stephen Curry and James Harden]. They're having great years, career years for both of them, but if you want to be realistic about it, you could give it to him every time.
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Good luck finding company for James at this stage of his career.
Like most all-time greats, he prefers to write his own history—to the point where he's an MVP candidate, if not the favorite, until he decides otherwise.
James Harden, Houston Rockets
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There isn't another NBA player shouldering a workload more taxing than that of Harden. Russell Westbrook comes pretty close, but the two guards are basically one and the same when it comes to on-court responsibilities.
Injuries have forced Harden into a prominent role that demands he do everything. Everything. He is the Houston Rockets' No. 1 scoring option and primary playmaker. He is also more active on the defensive end, functioning as part of a stingier perimeter setup that tasks him with freelancing inside passing lines.
All of which has led to Harden's most balanced contributions ever. His usage rate is above 31, he's assisting on more than 34 percent of Houston's baskets when in the game and he's forcing turnovers on 2.6 percent of his defensive sets.
Ridiculous still, Harden is doing all of this while posting a true shooting percentage—cumulative measurement of two-point, three-point and free-throw accuracy—just above 60. And that makes his efforts historical.
One other player can say he's matched those all-everything benchmarks: Michael Jordan.
Harden, then, isn't solely an MVP hopeful because he's carrying the Rockets to title contention, or because he leads the league in win shares (16.2), or because he's the NBA's best shooting guard.
He's here in large part because, like Dwyane Wade, Kobe Bryant and Jordan before him, he's officially staking his claim as one of the best shooting guards to ever play the game.
Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors
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What is Stephen Curry?
That's a serious question. He's obviously a superstar and MVP favorite, but beyond that, what is he? Because whatever he is, it isn't of this millennium or, for that matter, galaxy.
Curry's per-game stat lines are historical on their own. Only Dwyane Wade, Michael Jordan and Russell Westbrook (this season) have averaged at least 23.5 points, 7.5 assists, four rebounds and two steals per game before.
But it's the efficiency with which Curry dominates that makes him truly unique. Twenty-nine percent of Golden State's plays run through him when he's on the floor, yet his true shooting percentage still exceeds 63.
Here's the list of players who have done this in the past:
- Charles Barkley
- LeBron James
- Kevin Durant
Those voodoo handles, evasive maneuvers and crazily contested three-pointers aren't just for show. Curry is efficiency in volume form, and the atypical fashion in which he generates his points is all part of the intrigue.
It's all part of why he, more so than anyone else, is taking the MVP chase, turning it upside down and making it his own.
Unless otherwise cited, all stats are courtesy of Basketball-Reference.com and NBA.com and accurate heading into games on April 15.
