The NBA All-Star Game came and went. Here are the front-runners to the six major awards to be handed in the NBA at the end of the season.
The 2016-17 NBA season is now in the home stretch. All 30 teams have played somewhere between 55 to 58 of their 82 regular season games. Sixteen of these clubs will have a shot to win the Larry O’Brien Trophy in the 2017 NBA Finals in June.
However, there are other pieces of hardware that could be appealing to some individuals. We are getting to the point of the year where we need to start taking seriously who will be up for the six major awards of the 2016-17 NBA season.
Heading into the post All-Star Break stretch of the season, here are the current front-runners for the six major awards in the NBA.
Most Valuable Player: LeBron James
With a little less than two months left in the regular season, it looks to be a four-man race for NBA MVP. The four likeliest players to come away with NBA MVP are Golden State Warriors small forward Kevin Durant, Houston Rockets shooting guard James Harden, Cleveland Cavaliers small forward LeBron James, and Oklahoma City Thunder point guard Russell Westbrook.
One would say that Durant would be fourth of this quartet, as his Warriors team is a complete juggernaut. Not to say that point guard and two-time reigning MVP Stephen Curry would steal votes from Durant, but he has more help than Harden, James, and Westbrook.
NBA MVP rarely goes to a player on a team that doesn’t finish in the top-two of his respective conference. While the threat of a nightly triple-double has many buzzing about Westbrook’s candidacy, Oklahoma City won’t win enough games to ultimately legitimize it.
Then it really comes down to Harden and James. Harden has been otherworldly for the Houston Rockets, averaging 29.2 points, 11.3 assists and 8.3 rebounds per game. This could be his award to win.
However, James is the front-runner over Harden by the slimmest of margins for two reasons: 1) His team is going to the NBA Finals, while Harden’s may only win one playoff series. 2) James is playing more minutes and having to carry the Cavaliers on his back more than ever this regular season.
James is averaging 25.9 points, 8.8 assists, and 7.7 rebounds, playing a ridiculous 37.5 minutes per game. Harden has better stats over James, but perhaps James’ are the more meaningful of the two.