Andrew Slap
The Santa Clara
March 2, 2017
With just over month and a half left of the regular season, the NBA MVP race has boiled down to two players: James Harden and Russell Westbrook. Many believe this race to be neck-and-neck, and in reality it probably is. But James Harden is far more deserving.
At face value, Harden and Westbrook’s stats are nearly identical. Harden is averaging 28.8 points per game; Westbrook is at 31.0. Harden averages 11.3 assists; Westbrook is one assist short at 10.3. But Russell has the slight edge on the boards over his former teammate, averaging 10.