The Most Valuable Player for the 2017-18 NBA regular season will be a difficult decision for the NBA community to make. Most fans do not know how the decision is made for MVP, but from the start of professional basketball until the season of 1979-1980 the NBA players voted. Since the 1980-1981 season, the award has been decided by a list of sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the USA & Canada. Each member gives their vote from 1st to 5th place. Should the MVP go to the player with the best stats on the best team of the season? Should the MVP go to the player with the best stats even if his team is not on top?
James Harden
The Houston Rockets have the best record in the league which is 51-13 and a winning streak of seventeen. Their other streak was for fourteen games straight! The Beard is an enormous reason why Houston is on top of every team in the league. Harden is averaging 31.2 points, 8.9 assists, and 5.2 rebounds per game, with a field goal percentage of 44. He is also having a great defensive year with 1.9 steals per game and 0.7 blocks per game. The addition of Chris Paul will hurt his chances for the MVP, but it should not affect his hopes. Will James Harden win his first MVP or will he be the runner-up for the third straight year?
Stephen Curry
From winning back to back MVPs in 2015 & 2016, Stephen Curry has a tremendous chance to win his third MVP title.
The Golden State Warriors are the second best team in the league when it comes to their record, they are the reigning champions, and they could easily win a 3rd NBA title. Golden State has a record of 50-14, winning nine of their last ten. Chef Curry is averaging 26.7 ppg, 5.2 rpg and 6.4 apg. His field goal percentage is at 49 which is his second best behind his 2016 year of 50 percent.
Curry is making half of his shots in 48 games played. Can Stephen Curry receive his third MVP title in four years or will he fall short? Will Kevin Durant affect his chance of winning the award because they are on the same team?
LeBron James
LeBron James has won four MVP titles and some say he should have won at least six times throughout his career so far.
Do you agree? Well, this season he has a difficult path for the MVP and it is not getting any easier. The Cleveland Cavaliers have not played great ball this whole season due to injuries, trades, and depth on the roster. They are currently holding the third spot in the Eastern Conference at 38-26. LeBron is one of the few players in the league that does not have superstars around him and he is still getting the job done! Averaging 26.8 points, 9.0 assists, and 8.4 rebounds; that is almost a triple-double season like Russell Westbrook had last season! Since Cleveland is not the top team in the East, can that damage Lebron’s opportunity?
Anthony Davis
The New Orleans Pelicans have now beat the San Antonio Spurs for the fourth seed in the West withAnthony Davis’ phenomenal play!
The Brow has been playing with a chip on his shoulder all season, and, when DeMarcus Cousins was injured, Davis had to put the team on his back. January 26th is when Boogie Cousins went down and that is when Davis turned into a one-man show; since then Davis is averaging 33.9 ppg, 13.2 rpg, 2.3 apg, 2.3 spg, and 2.6 bpg. He is also shooting 50 percent from the field. Just like LeBron, The Brow is taking over by himself and getting these W’s for his team with a current 10 game win streak. Will his hopes be shattered since his stats were not this incredible all season? Can finishing 4th in the West cost him?
DeMar DeRozan
The best team in the East at the moment is the Toronto Raptors. They have a winning record of 47-17 and they have won nine of their last ten games.
They are two games above the Boston Celtics and they just clinched a playoff spot with their win last night against the Detroit Pistons. Toronto is the first team this season to clinch a playoff spot. DeMar DeRozan is a huge reason why they are winning so much; averaging 23.7 points per game, 3.9 rebounds per game, and 5.2 assists per game. DeMar does not have the best stats in the league, but every year he has helped his team get better and better and it shows throughout the last three years. In the last two years they have finished second in the East and this year they will probably finish first. Will that be enough for DeMar DeRozan to win the MVP? Does he need to do more on the court?
