The overall leader in the MVP rankings has not changed this season, and unless there is an epic collapse from the Houston Rockets, the MVP will be James Harden, but it is still fun to see who else is in the running in case of a tragedy from the Rockets or a miracle from some other team. I've also added in my Most Improved Player leaders to this edition of my rankings, with previous rank in parentheses for the other awards:
Most Valuable Player
1 (1) James Harden - HOU - 30.9 P, 5.2 R, 8.7 A, 1.9 S, .451 FG, .375 3P, .869 FT
Harden is leading the league in scoring, and finishing the season in first would put him in exclusive company. The only players in history to finish as the league leader in assists and scoring at some point in their careers are Oscar Robertson, Jerry West, and Tiny Archibald, who did both in one season.
2 (3) LeBron James - CLE - 27.0 P, 8.6 R, 9.0 A, 1.5 S, 1.0 B, .544 FG, .370 3P, .727 FT
James is having one of his best overall seasons, and his stats are very comparable to Harden's, but his team is struggling, while Harden has his team in first place, which is why he is currently sitting in the runner-up spot.
3 (2) Russell Westbrook - OKC - 25.2 P, 9.7 R, 10.2 A, 1.8 S, .447 FG, .736 FT
Westbrook is leading the league in assists, and as a former scoring leader, he could also join the club I mentioned in Harden's paragraph above. Perhaps more amazing, he is within range of another triple-double season, needing to average 12.2 rebounds per game for the rest of the season to reach that unprecedented repeat.
4 (6) Anthony Davis - NOP - 28.0 P, 11.2 R, 2.3 A, 1.5 S, 2.4 B, .532 FG, .831 FT
Since Demarcus Cousins went down nearly two months ago, Davis has led the league in scoring and blocks, and is second in steals and 4th in rebounding. He also led the Pelicans on a 10-game winning streak during that time, and has them squarely in the playoff race, almost entirely on his own.
5 (7) Kevin Durant - GSW - 26.6 P, 6.8 R, 5.4 A, 1.9 B, .520 FG, .430 3P, .887 FT
Durant has really turned it on lately while other Warriors are dealing with injuries, keeping the defending champs alive in the race for the top seed, but he is now dealing with a rib injury that may end the quest for the regular season title and the MVP.
6 (5) DeMar DeRozan - TOR - 23.7 P, 4.0 R, 5.1 A, 1.1 S, .461 FG, .323 3P, .827 FT
DeRozan has let his scoring take a little hit this year in favor of getting his teammates more involved, and the result is the Raptors leading the East by 5 games with only 11 to go, and he just may be the guy to finally dethrone LeBron in the East playoffs.
7 (4) Giannis Antetokounmpo - MIL - 27.3 P, 10.1 R, 4.8 A, 1.5 S, 1.4 B, .531 FG, .756 FT
The Greek Freak is still improving somehow, and he's already a legitimate superstar, but his team has fallen off a bit lately and will probably get in as one of the last 2 playoff teams in the East, so maybe this award is still a year or two away for him.
8 (8) Stephen Curry - GSW - 26.3 P, 5.1 R, 6.2 A, 1.6 S, .494 FG, .424 3P, .919 FT
The Warriors are obviously better when Curry is on the court, with a 40-10 record when he plays, compared with 12-7 when he sits. He's missed 19 games to assorted injuries this year, and he will miss several more with his current ankle injury, but as long as he is healthy in the playoffs, you can't count the Warriors out.
9 (NR) Victor Oladipo - IND - 23.5 P, 5.3 R, 4.2 A, 2.2 S, .471 FG, .368 3P, .804 FT
The Pacers have been 21-9 in games with Oladipo since he missed 4 games around New Year's Day, and it looks like the Paul George trade may have actually favored the Pacers rather than the Thunder.
10 (9) Kyrie Irving - BOS - 24.4 P, 3.8 R, 5.1 A, 1.1 S, .491 FG, .408 3P, .889 FT
Irving is being talked up as an MVP candidate because of Boston's success this year, but last year they were the #1 seed in the East, and Irving's stats are down slightly across the board from what he did alongside LeBron in Cleveland last year.
Honorable Mention: Damian Lillard - POR, Joel Embiid - PHI
Rookie of the Year
1 (1) Ben Simmons - PHI - 16.3 P, 7.8 R, 7.7 A, 1.7 S, .536 FG, .569 FT
2 (2) Donovan Mitchell - UTA - 19.8 P, 3.7 R, 3.6 A, 1.4 S, .437 FG, .347 3P, .825 FT
3 (3) Jayson Tatum - BOS - 13.3 P, 5.0 R, 1.5 A, .469 FG, .423 3P, .823 FT
4 (4) Lauri Markkanen - CHI - 14.9 P, 7.6 R, 1.2 A, .426 FG, .345 3P, .865 FT
5 (5) John Collins - ATL - 10.5 P, 7.0 R, 1.1 A, 1.1 B, .581 FG, .747 FT
Sixth Man of the Year
1 (1) Lou Williams - LAC - 22.9 P, 2.6 R, 5.4 A, 1.1 S, .436 FG, .359 3P, .873 FT
2 (2) Jordan Clarkson - CLE - 14.3 P, 2.9 R, 3.0 A, .454 FG, .344 3P, .783 FT
3 (3) Bobby Portis - CHI - 13.2 P, 6.6 R, 1.7 A, .468 FG, .348 3P, .794 FT
4 (4) Jeremy Lamb - CHA - 13.2 P, 4.1 R, 2.2 A, .452 FG, .362 3P, .868 FT
5 (NR) Will Barton - DEN - 15.0 P, 4.9 R, 4.1 A, 1.0 S, .450 FG, .363 3P, .787 FT
Honorable Mention: Nikola Mirotic - NOP, Michael Beasley - NYK, JJ Barea - DAL
Most Improved Player
1. Victor Oladipo - IND - 23.5 P (+7.6), 5.3 R (+1.0), 4.2 A (+1.6), 2.2 S (+1.0)
2. TJ Warren - PHX - 19.7 P (+5.3), 5.2 R (+0.1), 1.3 A (+0.2)
3. Khris Middleton - MIL - 20.0 P (+5.3), 5.2 R (+1.0), 4.0 A (+0.6)
4. Joel Embiid - PHI - 23.6 P (+3.4), 11.1 R (+3.3), 3.3 A (+1.2)
5. Jrue Holiday - NOP - 19.3 P (+3.9), 4.4 R (+0.5), 5.9 A (-1.4)
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