Heading into the 2017 NBA season, many sportsbooks saw Stephen Curry as the odds-on favorite to repeat as NBA MVP, a feat accomplished by only three NBA legends (Larry Bird, Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell). And while Curry certainly put together a strong case, the presence of another MVP-level player in Kevin Durant pretty much squelched his chances to repeat.
As the season wound down in March, it looked like Houston Rockets star James Harden was gaining true steam with our friends at SportsBookReview.com. SBR’s trusted betting sites had Harden averaging a -150 favorite … that is until March 30. That’s when the MVP race truly got interesting.
We all knew Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook was heading toward being only the second player in NBA history to average a triple-double, but March 30 was a seminal moment. When Westbrook scored 57 points to go with 13 rebounds and 11 assists against the Orlando Magic, it truly seemed to be the moment where Vegas took note. It was the most points ever scored in a triple-double, but more importantly, it got the pundits to examine just how special Westbrook’s feat was. (It didn’t hurt that the Big O himself, Oscar Robertson, started publicly campaigning for Westbrook either.)
As the regular season wound down, it was Westbrook who became the odds-on favorite among SBR’s experts, but many of the ESPN and FOX pundits were still thinking Harden had put up numbers strong enough to take the award.
Yes, there were plenty of candidates to start the year, and players like Lebron James, Kawhi Leonard and Isaiah Thomas all made strong cases at one point in the season. But as it comes down to Westbrook and Harden for the award, let’s break down what is differentiating both candidates.
JAMES HARDEN