It’s an exciting time to watch the NBA, and the NBA MVP Race is coming down to the wire. Players are playing at a high level, and then there are the players that go above and beyond, the players that play above everyone else as the league is at its peak of talent, more than ever before. These top five players are stacked with high quality talent and have been performing at their peak. They are having incredible individual years. These are the top five players in the MVP race for the 2014-15 season.
- Anthony Davis- 2014-15 stats: 24.6 points, 10.4 rebounds, 1.4 steals, and 2.9 blocks per game.
Anthony Davis is playing like a top quality player. He is amongst the top forwards in the league and is clearing a path to be the best power forward in the league. He is averaging a double-double and adding three blocks per game. He is playing incredible and he is leading a team that without him would probably crash and burn. Without a quality player averaging over 20 points, 10 rebounds, and shooting a career high 54 percent from the floor, the Pelicans would fall without him. As a 21-year-old, you would surely think that a player of his caliber would have to be in his prime of his career. He has just been that good during his third year with the New Orleans Pelicans, thriving in just about every facet of the game while keeping them in the playoff race. He is a great player that can’t be stopped and will be for years to come.
- Lebron James- 2014-15 stats: 25.9 points, 5.8 rebounds, 7.3 assists, and 1.6 steals per game.
LeBron James always comes up when you think about players who can win the MVP. Why? Because he is consistently one of the best players in the NBA. It has gotten to a point where when he starts to fall one or two points, everyone gets on him and he looks like he is not the same guy as before. He still is. His stats are still at the top. He is averaging over 25 points and is playing a great all-around game, getting 5.8 rebounds and 7.3 assists. He is remarkable on defense, getting 1.6 steals and 0.7 blocks per game. He is playing at a high level even when the quality of the players around him increases. Even when they throw people into the mix like Kevin Love, he still performs at a nice rate, while making the players around him look even better than they would have. LeBron has received a lot of criticism from a lot of players and press, but he still is the same player he has always been.
- Russell Westbrook- 2014-15 stats: 27.5 points, 8.6 assists, 7.2 rebounds, and 2.1 steals per game.
Russell Westbrook is starting to come out of his shadow as the second guy behind Kevin Durant. With Durant hurt, Westbrook is able to prove to everyone how great of a player he actually is. Currently, Westbrook is averaging almost exactly a triple-double in April. He has been averaging 29.7 points, 10.3 assists, and 9.7 rebounds. He has been pushing for his name to be heard, and it’s hard not to when you are playing this good. The only reason that he is not higher up and potentially winning the MVP, is because after all of this, he still isn’t leading his team very far. The Oklahoma City Thunder are currently resting at 42-35 and are in ninth in the west. Even if he leads them to the playoffs, they won’t be able to make it very far if they stay at the eight spot. Playing a healthy Golden State Warriors in the playoffs is like committing basketball suicide. The Warriors are an incredible team and the Thunder with only one superstar like Westbrook will not be able to take them down. He needs to become more of a leader and be able to perform and act like the captain of this team before he is named the MVP. If he is able to become more of a captain-like player then he can win the MVP, but he needs to be able to show something else other than personal stats to win the MVP.
- Stephen Curry- 2014-15 stats: 23.3 points, 7.9 assists, 4.3 rebounds, and 2.1 steals per game.
Stephen Curry is a magical player to begin with. He is able to make moves, put you on the ground, and finish the ball right in your face. Not only that, he can hit a three in double coverage, or stepping back, or basically anywhere on the court, but he is also able to play like a captain. What it means to play like a captain is to make everyone around you play better, to put a chip on your shoulder and carry the team on your back when they need it most and that is exactly what Curry has. He is a young player who is able to lead a group of players full of talent like Klay Thompson, Harrison Barnes, Draymond Green, Andre Iguodala, and the like and make them all look great with his wonderful assist numbers at 7.9 per game. He also helps them by getting open and making every shot possible to help with their stats, but best of all he is able to make the clutch shots. The shots that every single player wants to hit for their team. He hits them consistently, so when he is shooting it, you are not surprised that it goes in. He shows incredible amounts of talent day in and day out and on top of that he leads not only the best team in the west, but the best team in the whole NBA.
- James Harden- 2014-15 stats: 27.2 points, 7.0 assists, 5.8 rebounds, and 1.9 steals per game.
One of the most efficient players in the NBA, he has been able to lead the Houston Rockets with Dwight Howard hurt and with Patrick Beverly out for the rest of the year. His Houston Rockets team is second in the west. He is currently first in points per game at 27.2 points. He has used his skill to make everyone around him better, no matter the quality of the player. He plays a very steady all-around game that is very hard to defend. He is able to drive and make shots through contact, he can pull up and shoot the ball, or he can take the three and make it consistently. He has shown that he is able to play with any team and always play at a high level. When he was playing for the Thunder, he was clearly the best sixth man in the league, playing with top notch players like Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. Now he can play by himself, running his own game and factoring the players around him into what he is doing. With him taking this role, he has fit right into the spot as the captain of this up and coming Rockets team and like Stephen Curry, can do everything for his team when they need it most. He can take the last second shots, he can make the pass that the defense isn’t expecting, and he’s got mad talent with his ball skills. He is truly a one of a kind player, being able to switch in and out of roles and be the best at what the coach wants him to do. That truly shows why he deserves the MVP over all the other spectacular players in the NBA.
