For a most of the season, the race for NBA MVP has mainly been a battle between triple-double machine Russell Westbrook and a rejuvenated, Kardashian-free James Harden. Because voters have to fill out five slots, players like LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard, Kevin Durant and Isaiah Thomas have received mentions but are typically not listed as favorites for various reasons (too much star help, lack of defense, etc).
That changed after Monday night’s win vs. the Houston Rockets, when Leonard had perhaps the best regular-season game of his career and produced what many would define as his “MVP moment”:
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