Most Valuable Player: James Harden
Honorable mentions: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Paul George, Stephen Curry, Joel Embiid
The MVP race has been a close one. Giannis Antetokounmpo and Stephen Curry got off to hot starts, while Joel Embiid and Paul George have been consistently great all year long. Despite this, the last few months from James Harden have been too good to ignore.
Harden is having what may be the greatest offensive season in modern NBA history. Since early December, Harden has been averaging 41.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, 7.4 assists and 2.3 steals per game. He has already totaled 23 games of 40+ points and is currently on a 31-game streak of 30+ or more points, the second longest streak of all-time.
The dominance that Harden is displaying on offense has been incredible. There is nothing that any team or defender can do to slow him down and he has single-handedly kept the Houston Rockets above .500 this year.
Now that Chris Paul is back in the lineup and Clint Capela will be returning shortly, there is no limit to how far the Rockets can go. As Houston climbs up the rankings, Harden should be capturing his second straight MVP award.