5 Reasons Why James Harden Is The 2017-18 NBA MVP

#4 James Harden 2017 is an improved version from last year

James Harden

Last year, Harden played almost 3000 minutes and was among the highest ranked players in the usage rate category. That might have caused his flameout in Game 6 against the San Antonio Spurs in the 2016 Conference Semifinals. His regular season performance last year, was high in terms of volume, not necessarily in efficiency though.

This year, however, a different Beard has taken the court. Although he still has the ball in his hands quite a bit, the important numbers that determine his efficiency have seen a huge change in the right direction.

While playing almost the same number of minutes (35.9 this year as compared to 36.4 last season), Harden averages 4.6 turnovers this season whereas he committed 5.7 last season. His three-point shooting numbers have gone up from 34.7% to 40.5% and even as a whole from the field, he is marginally shooting better at 45.8% (44.0 last year).