NBA MVP: Westbrook or Harden
Russell Westbrook is setting the league on fire this season. He has become a walking triple double, averaging 30.7 points, 10.7 rebounds and 10.3 assists per game. The point guard has 24 triple doubles on the season and is showing no signs of slowing down. Along with that, he leads the league in player efficiency rating at 29.3. Not to mention, he has single handedly led the Thunder to a 27-19 record as they sit pretty at 6th in the western conference. He must be the NBA MVP this season right? How can he not be?
Well, while he is certainly making a strong case, I personally would give the honor to Rocket’s point guard and Westbrook’s former teammate, James Harden. At first glance, Harden’s stats are great, but not as strong as Westbrook’s. Still, you can’t ignore 28.6 points, 11.6 assists and 8.2 rebounds per game. Sure, Westbrook is averaging a triple double and leads the league in scoring. However, let’s dig a little deeper into his historic season in comparison to Harden’s.
To start, one major flaw in Westbrook’s game is his FG% which is a poor 41%. He can credit his league leading 30.7 points per game to his league leading 23.7 field goal attempts per game and to be fair, his 42% usage percentage heads the league. Harden on the other hand is shooting a respectable 45% for the year. Though he averages 2 points less per game than Russ, he attempts 5 less shots per game (18.5). As for true shooting percentage (an advanced stat that takes into account 2 point field goals, three pointers and field goals to give a more accurate shooting percentage) Westbrook is sitting at 54% while Harden smokes him at 62%. To summarize, Westbrook’s scoring numbers only lead Harden’s because of a much larger usage. If the Rocket’s star were to take the same amount of shots as Russell, we can almost guarantee he would be leading the league in points per game.
James Harden also leads the league in offensive win shares with 7.4. Westbrook? Just 3.9. What a major difference. Harden’s efficient scoring and league leading assist numbers tell us that he may very well be the more valuable offensive player and it may not be as close as we first imagined. The win shares only confirm that theory and as far as the MVP voting goes, point Harden.
Continuing our advanced stat digging, Westbrook does lead Harden in defensive win shares. Most people could have guessed that as James Harden is known for his poor defense and Russell Westbrook is known for his strong defense. However, their numbers are much closer than people would think. Westbrook holds 2.6 as opposed to Harden’s 2.1 Yet, Harden destroys Westbrook in total win shares; 9.5 (leads league) to 6.5.
Let’s also acknowledge that the Rockets are 34-15 holding onto 3rd place in the western conference. Yes, Westbrook may be a 1 man team and yes, he is putting up huge totals, but at this point in the season James Harden appears to have the slight edge. If Westbrook continues his dominance, seeing him hoist the MVP trophy at the end of the season would not be a surprise and it would be very deserving. I mean the guy is having a historic year and is the sole reason the Thunder are having the success that they are. However. If Harden were to win the award I feel as though that would be slightly more fitting. He, like Russ, is close to a one man team, leading Houston in points per game, assists per game, rebounds per game and field goal percentage. I think it is fair to say we are witnessing one of the craziest MVP battles in professional sports history.