Top 7 contenders for the NBA MVP 2018-19 award

#3 James Harden (Houston Rockets)

The beard is breaking records after records.

Reigning MVP wants this honour once again and his numbers certainly back up his determination and perseverance.

The beard has been in the form of his life averaging 35.7 ppg and recently joined Chamberlain as the only players in NBA history to record back-to-back 55-point games, also taking his (30+) points game streak to 19, and in these 19 games, he’s averaged 42.5 ppg and 8.9 apg.

Harden now has 13 50-point games in his career, passing LeBron James for the most among active players.

He has been the key to Houston’s success in the absence of Chris Paul and with other notable players missing quite a few games. Rockets currently stand 5th in the western conference with the record of (26-19).

After the mixed start of the season Rockets have bounced back thanks to the beard with (15-5) record in last 20 games.

He has been named western conference player of the week twice alongside with one player of the month mention. Notably, Harden also leads the title race to best scorer.