2017-'18 James Harden (drafted in 2009)
*MVP SEASON*: 30.4 PPG (.619 TS%, 37% from 3 on 10 attempts), 8.8 APG, 1.8 SPG, 29.8 PER, 9.9 box +/-, 15.4 win shares.
Everyone hates this dude, and they should.
He is the Einstein of offense, being virtually unguardable more often than not, and nobody is going to do more with a broken-play than him. With a CAREER .611 TS% (far higher than MJ, FWIW), he has mastered offense in a way that is frankly unfair, but you can't argue with the facts. Nobody besides MJ in the modern era has dominated the game offensively like Harden has. It is hard to choose which season to pick from, considering he's lead the league in assists (11.2 APG in '16-'17), averaged an ungodly 36.1 PPG in another ('18-'19), and won three scoring titles. Naturally, I will choose his official MVP season, despite being a perennial candidate for most of the last half-decade and having a legitimate case for having one or two more, finishing as runner-up in two seasons and 2nd runner up in another).
Mathematically, it makes sense that he would dominate the ball in most circumstances, but he started his career off the bench and just finished his last in a greatly reduced role because he understood he had proper talent around him. That is to say, he can be a great teammate and thrive playing a team game. This is an important question, as is his defense, which has improved immensely since the time he was a punchline, such that he has become proficient at generating turnovers (finishing 7th in SPG in '17-'18). He is also a bull, making him elite in the post on defense for his position(s) and quite switchable.
Hakeem is going to eat with his usual peerless post work, but is also going to feast on lobs and other bunnies in a way he never got to (imagine replacing Capella with Hakeem; nasty), in addition to some PnR in order to maximize and compound each other's gravity.
*MVP SEASON*: 30.4 PPG (.619 TS%, 37% from 3 on 10 attempts), 8.8 APG, 1.8 SPG, 29.8 PER, 9.9 box +/-, 15.4 win shares.
Everyone hates this dude, and they should.
He is the Einstein of offense, being virtually unguardable more often than not, and nobody is going to do more with a broken-play than him. With a CAREER .611 TS% (far higher than MJ, FWIW), he has mastered offense in a way that is frankly unfair, but you can't argue with the facts. Nobody besides MJ in the modern era has dominated the game offensively like Harden has. It is hard to choose which season to pick from, considering he's lead the league in assists (11.2 APG in '16-'17), averaged an ungodly 36.1 PPG in another ('18-'19), and won three scoring titles. Naturally, I will choose his official MVP season, despite being a perennial candidate for most of the last half-decade and having a legitimate case for having one or two more, finishing as runner-up in two seasons and 2nd runner up in another).
Mathematically, it makes sense that he would dominate the ball in most circumstances, but he started his career off the bench and just finished his last in a greatly reduced role because he understood he had proper talent around him. That is to say, he can be a great teammate and thrive playing a team game. This is an important question, as is his defense, which has improved immensely since the time he was a punchline, such that he has become proficient at generating turnovers (finishing 7th in SPG in '17-'18). He is also a bull, making him elite in the post on defense for his position(s) and quite switchable.
Hakeem is going to eat with his usual peerless post work, but is also going to feast on lobs and other bunnies in a way he never got to (imagine replacing Capella with Hakeem; nasty), in addition to some PnR in order to maximize and compound each other's gravity.
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