Who has the edge in vote for NBA MVP?
The finishing touches on the 2017-18 NBA season come Monday night at the second annual NBA Awards show in Santa Monica, Calif.
The league will announce the winners of the season’s individual awards, with Most Valuable Player the crown jewel. The awards were voted on by a panel of media members before the start of the playoffs.
James Harden, LeBron James and Anthony Davis were announced as MVP finalists in May. So who has the edge among the trio of superstars?
Comparing the finalists’ 2017-18 rsums:
James Harden
- Averages: 30.4 points, 8.8 assists, 5.4 rebounds, 1.8 steals
- Shooting percentages: 44.9 overall, 36.7 three-point, 85.8 free-throw - Unanimous first-team All-NBA Harden quickly shut down the preseason worries about playing alongside Chris Paul and won his first scoring title while leading the Rockets to a league-best 65-17 record. With Paul helping shoulder the play-making load, Harden took his isolation game to a new level.
LeBron James
- Averages: 27.5 points, 9.1 assists, 8.6 rebounds, 1.4 steals
- Shooting percentages: 54.2 overall, 36.7 three-point, 73.1 free-throw - Unanimous first-team All-NBA In his 15th season, James put together perhaps the finest all-around performance of his career. James led the Cavaliers in total points, rebounds, assists, blocks and steals while playing all 82 games for the first time and leading the NBA in minutes.
Anthony Davis
- Averages: 28.1 points, 11.1 rebounds, 2.6 blocks, 1.5 steals
- Shooting percentages: 53.4 overall, 34.0 three-point, 82.8 free-throw
- First-team All-NBA and first-team All-Defense
Davis staked his claim as the best allaround big man in the league with a season that rivals the greats of the game. He became just the fourth different player to average at least 25 points, 10 rebounds, 2.5 blocks and 1.5 steals a game.