Five likeliest NBA MVP candidates
The Silent Assassin: Kawhi Leonard, San Antonio Spurs
Here’s one I’d like to see for nothing else other than Kawhi staring blankly at the media for 10 minutes during his MVP acceptance speech. Regardless, with Tim Duncan now enjoying the sweet sunrise of his retirement years, the time is ripe for Leonard to put his oven mitt-sized fingerprints all over the MVP race. The 25-year-old cornrow enthusiast had his coming-of-age moment in 2015-16 when he assumed the primary offensive load for the Spurs and became the team’s undisputed crunch-time/isolation scorer.
For a guy who we already knew was perhaps the best perimeter defender in the league (winning his second consecutive Defensive Player of the Year Award in 2015-16 for good measure), his increased scoring capacity marked a significant milestone in the evolution of Leonard’s game. He managed a career-high 21.2 points per game and did it on a remarkable 50.6 percent shooting from the field and 44.3 percent from deep.
But can we expect him to build on that performance next season? Opposing defenses now know to key in on Leonard as the Spurs’ offensive alpha male. And how many touches will a fully-assimilated LaMarcus Aldridge and newcomer Pau Gasol command?
It’s hard to say, but embracing a greater function as a playmaker could be the next step for Leonard to take, one that would certainly help offset those concerns. With Duncan’s post passing being ancient history and Boris Diaw now in Utah, it may be time for Leonard to adopt a new persona: Kawhi the Kreator. Leonard has never averaged more than three assists in a single season, but his floor vision has always been a strong (if underutilized) component of his offensive arsenal.
All things considered, the last player to win MVP and Defensive Player of the Year in the same season was Hakeem Olajuwon in 1993-94 (when this humble writer was still in the womb). If there’s anybody who has a chance to repeat that feat from this year’s field, it’s The Claw.
The Dark Horse: James Harden, Houston Rockets
James Harden taking on the featured role in a Mike D’Antoni offense sounds like something out of an empyrean pace-and-space fan fiction. On top of that, the Rockets added a couple of superb free agent three-point shooters in Ryan Anderson and Eric Gordon to complement their long, rangy wings who can run the floor and finish in transition (Trevor Ariza, Corey Brewer, etc.) as well as their Clint Capela-types who can provide vertical spacing with their rim-running athleticism after setting the screen.
This type of up-tempo, spread pick-and-roll attack that it looks like Houston is setting themselves up for will give Harden the space and ability to do what he does best: go downhill and drive to the cup, either converting an easy basket or drawing a foul and getting to the line (sometimes even both).
By the numbers, the four-time All-Star had the best season of his career last year with 29.0 points per game, 6.1 rebounds per game, and 7.5 assists per game. Harden actually has the potential to be even better in 2016-17 with D’Antoni sure to further boost the team’s seventh-ranked pace of play and with Distractin’ Dwight Howard now out of town.
Though defense will obviously be an issue on a Rockets team with both head coach and star player well known for their apathy towards that end of the floor, Harden is already exhibiting better leadership qualities and appears to be fully committed to the team after signing a fat contract extension last month. Harden, who created 243 made three-pointers for his teammates last season, is also going to have oodles of fun kicking it out to all of his new shooters, which should help his assist totals climb even further.
Sure, we haven’t had a fully-bearded MVP winner since the magnificent chin curls of Bill Walton earned the distinction way back in the 1977-78 season. But if there’s one thing that I ask of next year’s voters, it’s that they Harden not their hearts to our pal James.
Image Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports
*Stats courtesy of NBA.com*
