Rockets guard James Harden was named the league’s Most Valuable Player during the NBA’s second annual awards show.
Harden topped the Cavaliers’ LeBron James and the Pelicans’ Anthony Davis for the league’s most coveted individual award. Harden finished second in the voting last season to the Thunder’s Russell Westbrook.
Harden led the league in scoring at 30.4 PPG. He was fourth in assists (8.8) and second in 3-pointers made per game (3.7) while also finishing in the top 10 in steals (1.8). Houston’s regular-season success, with its league-best 65-17 record, played a role in Harden’s victory.
The Cavaliers needed James’ Herculean efforts just to finish fourth in the East. He averaged 27.5 PPG, 8.6 RPG and 9.1 APG while appearing in all 82 contests.
Davis led the Pelicans to the playoffs, and a first-round knockout of the Trail Blazers, despite DeMarcus Cousins‘ season-ending Achilles injury. He posted averages of 28.1 PPG, 11.1 RPG and 2.6 BPG.
Here are the other awards announced on Monday night:
- Rookie of the Year: Ben Simmons, Sixers
- Coach of the Year: Dwane Casey, Raptors
- Sixth Man of the Year: Lou Williams, Clippers
- Defensive Player of the Year: Rudy Gobert, Jazz
- Most Improved Player: Victor Oladipo, Pacers
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Garbage media driven from before the season even started. What a joke. No reason to say more than that
This isn’t even an MVP award so much as a scoring champion award.
Totally devalued in my view.
agree
MVP is a joke these days, this bum didn’t even make the Finals and choked like always in the playoffs.
They vote before the playoffs.
So voters needed to predict the future?
They should base MVP off the totality of the season not just regular season. If we are talking just regular season I think Donovan Mitchell could have made a better case than James Chokeden.
I agree I wish there was a way to possibly include the playoffs into MVP voting. However that might limit the guys who could possibly win. Like you’re argument now is ruling out harden because he didn’t make the finals. All the sudden you can vote between James or KD this year then. You completely lost me in the Mitchell argument though lol
It’s a regular season award….always has been.
I agree. Durant won the Finals MVP, as he should have, over LeBron!
Just go add up Box Plus/Minus, Win Shares and VORP it’s the MVP every single year, go do the math if you dont believe me… I checked like the last 15 years. Might as well be the NBA version of WAR.
His stats are all elevated by the garbage he pulls to get calls he should never get. He isnt even trying to score. Hes just trying to trick the refs into giving him free throws. He has talked about going over new ways to convince the ref he got fouled when watching film with DeRozan in the offseason. Getting to the foul line is 100% a skill, but not the way he does it. He throws his arms into people and flails. If anything, those are offensive fouls. He is the literal only player in history I dont enjoy watching. The sick thing is he could actually be someone if he wasnt such a gimmick. He has a lot of Ginobli in his game. But the way he plays, he is a glorified Eric Gordon with elevated numbers b/c of the free throws. Chris Paul is by far their best player…and as we’ve seen, he wont get those calls all the time when it matters, and then he isnt $#!+ in the playoffs
I’m not a Harden fan, I’ll give him his due, he can score on anyone. He is Lance Stephenson/Marcus Smart level floppery, but if they were also really really good players, not role players at heart. All the greats have invented ways to get calls. Kobe used to kick his legs out into a guy, they now have a rule against that. Embiid has already made the rip through nonsense a big part of his post game. Curry and his stupid jump into guys throw up a trick shot move. Just once I wish some of these guys got laid out like in slam ball but for flopping. I hate flopping even when my own guys do it. All I think is you little [insert word for female dog].
Except curry makes those shots. Harden is and has been known as senior flop for years now. Harden is a joke. The anti flopping rules should of had him suspended years ago. He s a manufactured by the league star, not a true star. This award is a joke. In no way shape or form is harden an mvp. Sad.
Led the team with the best record in the west. You haters can suck it. You couldn’t carry Harden’s jock.
In the truest sense of the words “most valuable player” I’m not even sure how anyone can argue he’s better deserving than LBJ.
-Equal or better stats across the board.
-Value to each players team success.
If people argue that the Cavs sanz James would be a lottery team then how do you NOT give James the award?
The league is clearly at the point where there’s MVP fatigue and instead they are looking to ordain players whom they feel need to be distinguished with an MVP award.
I could easily carry his jock
Wel deserved. Only reason he didn’t get it last year was because of Westbrook’s triple double year. This guy deserves this award no matter what people say. To say he doesn’t is ridiculous. And the comment about the playoffs…always has been MVP of the regular season so that makes no sense to bring that up
normally I would agree but James should have won this year. It was clear that he was Most Valuable to his team. the only reason Cleveland even makes the playoffs is because of James. this team was a train wreck. Harden is great and certainly should win one, but this year James was like last year Westbrook. Maybe not a triple double every game, but a guy leading a team who likely shouldn’t even have finished in the top 8 without him
I can agree with that I guess. I wouldn’t be upset if James won. I just think Harden had to win it. He put up the numbers and without him the team wouldn’t have been where they were and who knows how many years he can keep putting up the numbers he puts up without winning it. In my opinion it could’ve gone both way for him or James and I’d thin it was deserving either way really.
Houston is at least a top 4 team in the West without Harden. Cleveland is the worst team in the NBA without LeBron
That’s why they don’t give MVP’s to guys on bad teams.
What? They won 50 games and the Central division. When ppl say that players on bad teams shouldn’t win MVPs they mean bad teams that have a losing record. Yeesh.
It’s not “most valuable to his team” it’s “leagues most valuable player” has nothing to do with value to the team.
It’s not well deserved at all he’s incredibly overrated. Not even the best player on his own team.
What a joke. This is almost as bad as Dmitri Vegas & Like Mike winning DJMag top DJ of the year. King James is more deserving – he’s the Eric Prydz of the NBA.
Well what do the advanced metrics say?
Wow….and EDM reference? Nice…
I was hoping someone would appreciate my analogy. I don’t need metrics to compare DJs, just a good dark, driving progressive beat without vocals and I’m good. :)
Well deserved Lebron is a kid. Davis was deserving but who can argue harden winning it?
Meant to say pos, but it auto corrected to kid. Jr smith said it the best when they win he gets all the credit when they lose is all on the rest of the team how can a player like that be MVP
when you are quoting J.R. Smith who can’t remember the score of a playoff game, the argument has already been lost.
JR (seeing Colin Sexton at practice): Yo Lebron why’s Kyrie back?
JR:
JR: …. Lebron?
JR: Aight where’s Lebron?
You gotta admit that’s feasible
Metrics had this 1. Harden, 2. LeBron. Also, same metrics put Ben Simmons well ahead of Mitchell. [see other post about metrics]
OMG … are you kidding me ??? The guy doesn’t play defense, he only shoots the ball … where Lebron & Anthony do both, offense and defense
Do some research and stop regurgitsting 3-year old rhetoric you got from a tube compilation. he graded out above average defensively.
My views are from my own eyes … James Harden doesn’t even rate in the Top 5.
Who was it that said they have Harden 6th in MVP voting? lol how wrong was that
I had him somewhere between 6th-9th
Durant and Curry might not win any more MVP’s because they are on such a good team. But hey Durant, Curry, Thompson, Dwight Howard,, and Draymond. Among top 5 teams of all time!!!
MVP means Most Valuable Player and is given to the person that means the most to their team.
If/When Harden was out of the lineup they could still win with Chris Paul and the others on the team. If/When Anthony Davis was out of the lineup and Demarcus Cousins was healthy they could still win with all the others. Now if Lebron missed any of the games last year they would have been blown out and if he became injured for the season at the start of the season this team doesn’t even make the playoffs. Therefore, Lebron is the Most Valuable Player to his team and should have been the leagues Most Valuable Player.
LeBron James is the MVP every year. People just need to realize it.
They didn’t give it to MJ every year though so as long as they’re consistent over time I don’t have a problem with it. He had a good argument this year though.
I believe it’s been 5 years since LeBron won it. CRAZY! Just like w/ MJ in the 90s, he won 5 but should have won more. Writers even said “Well, of course Jordan is the MVP, but we can’t give it to him every year”. Why? This isn’t little league, just do your jobs and vote for the Most Valuable Player, period. No player was more valuable to his team than Bron. AD coulda got it, Russ, KD. But not an iso player that pounds the ball for 22 seconds of the shot clock, gets his stats and then doesn’t even pretend to play defense.
This year AD was a very close winner above LBJ, Harden to me is the 4th, behind Giannis 3rd. Last year Harden had a better season than this year, by quite some margin but was fairly 2nd behind Westbrookd, last year AD was the 3rd. For me this year it went:
AD, LBJ, Giannis, Harden, DMC, Westbrook, KAT, KD, Curry, Embiid, Jokic…
So really mad, I do really like Harden, but he didn’t deserve it. This league always slights AD in my opinion, he should have by now 2 MVP’s in my opinion, also DPOY this season, clearly he hasn’t got the press or the big city market other guys do, but man the numbers he put up this year, specially without DMC, they are from another world, he is already one of the best players ever, just hope someday the league starts to appreciate what he does, preferably before he retires. No one can doubt AD was the MVP this year.
Kevin Durant has been the NBA Finals the last 2 seasons when it matters. Unless LeBron goes to Golden State or Boston, he probably won’t see another championship. Shaq is telling LeBron to relax and quit chasing championships. I wish Anthony Davis would go to Boston. Everybody wanted to fire Danny Ainge for hoarding draft picks and not signing stars. Times change. Their owner said Boston has always been about championships and will spend money when it’s necessary.
LeBron, Anthony Davis, Damian Lillard, Kyrie, Oladipo, LaMarcus Aldridge, Russell Westbrook, Giannis, Harden, Kevin Durant, Embiid, Beal, DeRozan, KAT, Chris Paul top 15
Why do they still let you comment on here?
Was waiting for you lol
I think you do it on purpose now. That top 15 is out of this world
Top 15 MVP from this year. Not top 15 players
A one way player that doesn’t even pretend to play defense, zero effort, playing in a D’Antoni system that inflates stats. When CP3 went down in the playoffs, we all saw what this so called MVP was all about. How is he more “valuable” to his team than LeBron is to his, AD to the Pels, Russ, KD… etc…
Shame on the writers, the players and coaches should be voting for these awards. Now kids are suppose to look up to this clown? Play like Harden, pound the ball for 22 seconds of the shot clock, get your numbers, but don’t worry about playing any D.