Los Angeles Lakers: Kobe Bryant makes MVP selection
Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant believes James Harden should win the MVP award for the 2017-18 season.
Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant has been keeping himself busy in retirement. He has been focusing on media, as he took home an Oscar for Best Animated Short Film, Dear Basketball. While Byrant has been keeping himself occupied, he still finds time to talk hoops.
The hottest debates right now in the basketball world are who should take home the regular season awards. The Rookie of the Year award and MVP are the ones garnering the most attention. For Rookie of the Year, Donovan Mitchell and Ben Simmons are the front-runners. The MVP race is much more crowded.
Right now, James Harden and LeBron James are probably the front-runners. Russell Westbrook once again averaged a triple-double, so he cannot be discounted. Damian Lillard has also garnered some attention as the leader of the upstart Portland Trail Blazers.
Bryant is one of the few people in the world that know what it takes to win an MVP award in the NBA. Bryant won the award in the 2007-08 season when he averaged 28.3 points, 6.3 rebounds, 5.4 assists and 1.8 steals per game. The scoring average for Bryant actually dropped from the previous two seasons, when he averaged 35.4 and 31.6 points per game.
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Bryant is as qualified as anyone to judge the MVP award. In a recent interview with Sam Amick of USA Today, Bryant revealed who he would select for MVP this season. Bryant’s pick would be Houston Rockets guard, James Harden.
"“It’s got to be James,” Bryant said. “I really don’t understand the debate about picking somebody else. I don’t get it. Like, what the hell does this guy have to do? I mean for the last three years, the guy has been absolutely lights out, and now you still want to sit here and debate who should be MVP when he leads the league in scoring (30.4 points per game), his assists numbers (8.8 per) are off the charts, they have the best record in the league (65-16).“If he doesn’t win MVP this year, what the hell is he supposed to do to win MVP, average 40 (points), 15 (assists) and 15 (rebounds)? I mean, come on now. Enough is enough.”"
This is the third season in a row that Harden is right in the thick of the MVP race, but came up short the first two times. In 2014-15 he finished second to Stephen Curry. That season, people said that the success Curry’s Golden State Warriors had played a part. Despite putting up better statistics, Curry took home the award based on team success.
Fast forward to 2016-17. Westbrook averaged a triple-double for the season, the first player to accomplish that since Oscar Robertson. However, Harden’s Rockets finished with a better record than Westbrook’s Oklahoma City Thunder. Despite that, Westbrook took home the MVP award, as his statistics were superior despite his team having lesser success.
This season, there isn’t much of an argument to be made against Harden. The Rockets had the best record in the NBA in the regular season, going 65-17. Westbrook may have averaged a triple-double again, but Harden’s stats are very strong.
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Despite arguably a career season from LeBron James, the MVP award is Harden’s to lose this year. The combination of team success and Harden’s dominance should result in an MVP award.