The MVP field has narrowed to two as we close the second half, with James Harden and Giannis Antetokounmpo exchanging blows for the league’s top regular-season honor. Each player has their respective case. Harden is in the midst of a historic scoring season, on par with Kobe Bryant’s best years post-Shaq and Michael Jordan’s scoring peak in the 1980’s. Antetokounmpo’s path to the award is more traditional, cruising through 82 games with the league’s best record and an enormous two-way impact.
Plenty of ink has been spilled over each player’s MVP credentials, and if 2016-17 is any reminder, endless litigation of the award can be more tiresome than illuminating.