With the end of the NBA regular season approaching, it’s time to talk about the serious contenders for the 2019 NBA MVP Award.
It is a tight race this year with Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo and Houston Rockets guard James Harden leading the pack. Both players are a defensive nightmare in their own way. Neither of them can be guarded one-on-one and each puts up monster numbers every night.
Although they both are efficient offensively, they go about scoring differently. Harden loves to score from outside the arc, but can drive in at will. You simply can’t stop him from driving to the rim without fouling.
Antetokounmpo lives in the paint as he plays bully ball down low and sticks to the midrange jumper over shooting 3s. He has put countless defensive players on posters as he drives his way to the rim and finishes emphatically.
One thing that the “Greek Freak” has going for him is his team’s success over the course of the regular season. The Bucks are currently sitting at No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference with a record of 53-19 and will probably finish the season there.
On the other hand, Harden has been putting up 30-plus points on every team in the NBA. Every team. He also has multiple 50-plus-point games and one 61-point game this season.
They’ve both put together outstanding résumés and it will come down to the wire. But, in my opinion, I believe Harden will come out on top due to his off-the-chart numbers.
