Fansided

NBA Awards Watch: Don’t forget Anthony Davis

By Brad Rowland

New Orleans Pelicans forward Anthony Davis (23) reacts after a basket against the Atlanta Hawks during the third quarter of a game at the Smoothie King Center. The Pelicans defeated the Hawks 115-100. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports
New Orleans Pelicans forward Anthony Davis (23) reacts after a basket against the Atlanta Hawks during the third quarter of a game at the Smoothie King Center. The Pelicans defeated the Hawks 115-100. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
7 of 7
Next
New Orleans Pelicans forward Anthony Davis (23) reacts after a basket against the Atlanta Hawks during the third quarter of a game at the Smoothie King Center. The Pelicans defeated the Hawks 115-100. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports
New Orleans Pelicans forward Anthony Davis (23) reacts after a basket against the Atlanta Hawks during the third quarter of a game at the Smoothie King Center. The Pelicans defeated the Hawks 115-100. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports /

Most Valuable Player

  1. Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors – Curry is the best player on the best team in the league, and that brings immediate attention. Still, his numbers are more than worthy of MVP consideration on their own. The 26-year-old guard is shooting 48.7% from the floor, 39.5% from three and 91.5% from the line this season (a startling shooting line), and to go along with that level of immense efficiency, Curry is averaging 23.0 points, 8.1 assists and a career-best 4.7 rebounds per game. The Warriors surround him with an exceptional supporting cast, but Curry is the engine that makes things work in Oakland, and he’s the MVP right now.
  2. James Harden, Houston Rockets – If Harden is to earn MVP honors, he will do it over the next month. His running mate, Dwight Howard, will be sidelined for about a month with knee issues, and the Rockets are already 3-1 in Howard’s absence during this run. Harden ranks in the top-five in PER (27.3) while leading the NBA in win shares, and his raw numbers (27.0 points, 6.8 assists, 5.6 rebounds per game) are similar to seasons put up by LeBron James in the past. It is certainly fair to point out Harden’s defensive weakness, but he has shored things up on that end in 2014-2015, and he is a legitimate MVP candidate while keeping Houston afloat.
  3. Anthony Davis, New Orleans Pelicans – Anthony Davis isn’t going to win the MVP award unless something changes. However, that doesn’t mean he doesn’t deserve big-time consideration. At the moment, the Pelicans sit with a 26-22 record that places them one game out of the playoffs in the West, and it would be unspeakable for some people to include a player on a non-playoff team in their MVP balloting. In this case, though, Davis has been the best player in the league from a statistical perspective (32.07 PER, 24.6 points, 10.5 rebounds, 2.8 blocks per game) and the argument in his favor should be that New Orleans would be utterly lost without him. Value is an interesting term, but for me, the difference between where the Pelicans would be with or without Davis is equal or greater than that of Curry and Harden.

Next: The greatest individual seasons in NBA history

More from FanSided

Home/Atlanta Hawks