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Five Key Stories: 4/20/19 – 4/27/19

April 27th, 2019 at 3:59pm CST by clarkcrum

If you missed any of this past week’s biggest headlines from around the NBA, we’ve got you covered with our Week in Review. Here are some of the most noteworthy stories from the last seven days:

Recently hired Kings head coach Luke Walton has been sued by former Spectrum Sportsnet LA reporter Kelly Tennant for an alleged sexual assault that occurred in a Santa Monica hotel room back in 2014. The suit alleges that Walton forcibly kissed Tennant and rubbed his body against her despite her pleas to stop. The Kings and the NBA have since announced a joint investigation into Tennant’s allegations against Walton. Meanwhile, the Kings have maintained that until the investigation uncovers more facts, they will take an “innocent-until-proven-guilty” approach with Walton.

The Suns parted ways with head coach Igor Kokoskov after he led Phoenix to a conference-worst record of 19-65 in his first season at the helm. The first ever European-born head coach in the NBA, Kokoskov was hired last May after an extensive hiring process by former GM Ryan McDonough. While it’s not clear exactly what prompted the Suns’ change, the team just revamped its front office yet again and it’s possible new GM James Jones wanted to make his own hire.

Pistons’ All-Star forward Blake Griffin underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left knee in Los Angeles on Wednesday. Griffin, 30, had the procedure done to address the issue that caused soreness in the knee late in the regular season and the playoffs. He is not expected to miss any planned offseason training for next season, but this continues a pattern of left leg injuries for Griffin. He has also suffered a sprained MCL, broken kneecap, meniscus tear, partially torn quadriceps and bone bruise in the same leg during his career.

Celtics’ all-time leading scorer John Havlicek passed away at the age of 79 after a battle with Parkinson’s Disease. The Celtics have since announced their plan to memorialize Havlicek with a black patch on the team’s jerseys with the No. 17 on them. Havlicek’s eight NBA Championships are third all-time, but he’s perhaps best known for his game-clinching steal and the resulting iconic broadcast line, “Havlicek stole the ball” at the close of Game 7 of the 1965 Eastern Conference Finals.

Trail Blazers’ big man Enes Kanter is questionable to appear in the team’s second-round series against the Spurs or Nuggets after suffering a separated left shoulder in Portland’s Game 5 win over the Thunder. Game 1 is not until Monday night, so the team has some time to treat the injury, and the Blazers remain hopeful that Kanter will be able to go.

Here are 9 more headlines worth passing along in what was a busy week for the NBA:

  • Despite suffering a torn ACL in Auburn’s Sweet 16 win over No. 1 seed North Carolina in this year’s NCAA Tournament, sophomore forward Chuma Okeke has entered his name into the 2019 NBA Draft pool.
  • Clippers’ general manager Michael Winger has decided to withdraw his name from consideration for the role of president of basketball operations with the Timberwolves, opting instead to remain in Los Angeles.
  • ESPN’s No. 19 ranked prospect, Georgian center Goga Bitadze, has declared for the 2019 NBA Draft. Bitadze broke the record for best PER by a teenager in EuroLeague history this season, breaking the record set by Luka Doncic last year.
  • Nets’ general manager Sean Marks was fined $25K and suspended for Brooklyn’s Game 5 loss to the Sixers after going into the referees’ locker room following the team’s Game 4 loss.
  • The Lakers currently have no plans in place to hire a replacement for former president of basketball operations Magic Johnson. GM Rob Pelinka is currently leading the franchise’s search for a new head coach.
  • The Lakers and head coaching candidate Tyronn Lue met for a second interview earlier this week. The Lakers are also considering Monty Williams and Juwan Howard to be the team’s next head coach.
  • In addition to the aforementioned candidates, the Lakers also interviewed former Bucks’ head coach Jason Kidd. Reports suggest he’s not as serious of a candiate as the other three, however.
  • 233 early entrants declared for the 2019 NBA Draft. The prospects, 175 from college and 58 international players, have until May 29 and June 10, respectively, to pull their name from the draft pool.
  • Jazz sharpshooter Kyle Korver, now 38, will once again consider retirement this offseason after going through the same decision last summer. His $7.5MM 2019/20 salary is only partially guaranteed for $3.44MM.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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Hoops Rumors Originals: 4/20/19 – 4/27/19

April 27th, 2019 at 1:23pm CST by clarkcrum

Every week, the Hoops Rumors writing team creates original content to complement our news feed. Here are our original segments and features from the past seven days:

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Free Agent Stock Watch 2019: Western Conference

April 26th, 2019 at 7:47pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Every week, Hoops Rumors takes a closer look at players who will be free agents or could become free agents next offseason. We examine if their stock is rising or falling due to performance and other factors. With the playoffs in full swing, we turn our attention to the Western Conference:

Patrick Beverley, Clippers, 30, PG (Up) – Signed to a four-year, $23MM deal in 2015
Taking a charge while holding one his shoes that came loose epitomizes how Beverley and his team have played during the series. There’s a huge talent gap between them and the Warriors but they refuse to give an inch. Beverley has done a whole lot more than get under Kevin Durant‘s skin. He’s second on the team in assists and rebounds through the first five games while shooting 42.9% from deep. In Games 4 and 5, he averaged 14.5 PPG, 12 RPG and 4.5 APG. Beverley will get a nice raise this summer, whether he lands a starting job or a sixth man role.

Al-Farouq Aminu, Trail Blazers, 28, SF (Up) – Signed to a four-year, $30MM deal in 2015
Portland’s glue guy played an underrated role in the team’s first-round knockout of the Thunder. He was second on the team in defensive rebounds, a major factor with Jusuf Nurkic sidelined. He also led the team in blocks, was second in steals and shot 40.9% from distance, along with providing his usual solid defense. Aminu doesn’t dazzle but he quietly does his job. Reliable, durable role players like Aminu will always have suitors and he’ll receive a full mid-level exception or more on the open market.

Jordan Bell, Warriors, 24, PF/C (Down) — Signed to a two-year, $2.2MM deal in 2017
DeMarcus Cousins‘ season-ending injury hasn’t helped Bell get on the court. He only played 14 minutes in the first five games against the Clippers and was benched in Games 4 and 5. Bell’s immaturity has irked the staff, including a late-season suspension for making unauthorized charges to assistant coach Mike Brown‘s hotel room. Bell can be a restricted free agent if the Warriors extend a $1.8MM qualifying offer, but the 2017 second-round pick doesn’t appear to have a future with the organization.

Markieff Morris, Wizards, 29, SF (Down) – Signed to a one-year, $57.3K deal in 2019
Brother Marcus Morris ripped the Thunder coaching staff over Markieff’s limited role during the postseason. Markieff only played four minutes in the 118-115 Game 5 loss to Portland that ended the Thunder’s season. He wasn’t much of a factor in the first four games of the season, when he averaged around 13 MPG. Markieff praised the organization afterward but his minimal impact won’t help in unrestricted free agency. Add in the neck issue that limited him to 58 regular-season games and Morris won’t have teams beating down his door.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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Community Shootaround: Spurs-Nuggets Winner

April 26th, 2019 at 6:30pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Unlike the NHL playoffs, which has produced some wild results and do-or-die Game 7 thrillers, the first round of the NBA playoffs has mostly gone true to form.

The opening round of the Eastern Conference playoffs, in particular, served more as a tune-up than a challenge for the top four seeds. Milwaukee clobbered Detroit four straight times and Boston swept away Victor Oladipo-less Indiana. Following first-game stumbles, Philadelphia and Toronto also took care of business.

It’s been a lot more entertaining in the Western Conference. The pesky Los Angeles Clippers have made two-time defending champion Golden State work harder than anticipated. Utah showed more resistance in the final three games of its series with Houston but ultimately didn’t have enough offensive answers to keep up with the Rockets.

Oklahoma City underachieved once again, as Portland overcame a devastating late-season injury to center Jusuf Nurkic to advance to the conference semis. Damian Lillard‘s 37-foot series-ending shot will be a defining moment in his career.

In terms of sheer drama, nothing gets the pulse racing more than a Game 7. We’ll have at least one in the first round (pending the result of tonight’s Clippers-Warriors game), as San Antonio and Denver will feel the pressure of a win-or-go-home game.

Not surprisingly, DeMar DeRozan and LaMarcus Aldridge have led the way for the Spurs in the series, supplemented by Derrick White‘s 36-point outburst in Game 3. Nikola Jokic has shown why the Nuggets gave him a max extension last summer, leading his team in scoring, rebounding and assists.

Denver will have the home court advantage but San Antonio possesses the experience edge and coach Gregg Popovich, who has prepared teams for games like this for two decades.

That leads us to our question of the day: Who will win Saturday’s Game 7 between San Antonio and Denver and what will be the deciding factor?

Please take to the comments section to weigh in on this topic. We look forward to your input.

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2019 NBA Offseason Salary Cap Digest: Washington Wizards

April 26th, 2019 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Projected by most fans and experts to be a playoff team in 2018/19, the Wizards dropped 11 of their first 13 games and never recovered. Things went from bad to worse when John Wall suffered a season-ending heel injury, then later ruptured his Achilles tendon, putting his 2019/20 season in jeopardy — just as his super-max contract is set to begin. Ernie Grunfeld‘s replacement in the Wizards’ basketball operations department will inherit a challenging situation.

Here’s where things currently stand for the Wizards financially, as we continue our Offseason Salary Cap Digest series for 2019:

Guaranteed Salary

Player Options

  • None

Team Options

Non-Guaranteed Salary

Restricted Free Agents

Unrestricted Free Agents / Other Cap Holds

Projected Salary Cap: $109,000,000
Projected Tax Line: $132,000,000

Offseason Cap Outlook

  • Realistic cap room projection: $0
  • Even if they’re only accounting for their five players on guaranteed salaries, cap holds for Satoransky and their first-round pick, and their mid-level exception, the Wizards will be an over-the-cap team. If they want to bring back any other free agents, such as Portis, Bryant, Ariza, or Green, they’ll go further over the cap. Barring major cost-cutting moves, there’s no path to cap room, but it’s reasonable to expect them to stay out of the tax.

Cap Exceptions Available

  • Trade exception: $957,609 (expires 6/26/19)
  • Trade exception: $694,405 (expires 10/15/19)
  • Trade exception: $2,955,654 (expires 12/9/19)
  • Trade exception: $3,208,630 (expires 12/17/19)
  • Trade exception: $6,011,913 (expires 2/6/20)
  • Trade exception: $8,600,000 (expires 2/7/20)
  • Mid-level exception: $9,246,000 3
  • Bi-annual exception: $3,619,000 3

Footnotes

  1. This is a projected value.
  2. Lawson’s and Sessions’ cap holds remain on the Wizards’ books because they haven’t been renounced after going unsigned in 2018/19. They can’t be used in a sign-and-trade deal.
  3. These are projected values. The Wizards will not be able to use these exceptions if their team salary exceeds the tax apron. In that scenario, they’d instead receive the taxpayer mid-level exception, worth a projected $5,711,000.

Note: Minimum-salary and rookie-scale cap holds are estimates based on salary cap projections and could increase or decrease depending on where the cap lands.

Salary information from Basketball Insiders and RealGM was used in the creation of this post. Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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Poll Results: Hoops Rumors’ 2019 All-NBA Teams

April 26th, 2019 at 2:31pm CST by Luke Adams

In an NBA season packed with incredible individual performances, we asked you to decide which 15 players are most deserving of All-NBA recognition.

Last week, we opened voting for the All-NBA First Team. We moved on to the Second Team on Monday, then opened the polls for the Third Team on Wednesday. The results of all those polls are in, so let’s check them out.

All-NBA First Team

All-NBA Second Team

All-NBA Third Team

Your top vote-getters in the final round of polling who didn’t quite earn spots on the Third Team: Bradley Beal (Wizards), Anthony Davis (Pelicans), and Karl-Anthony Towns (Timberwolves).

My own All-NBA Teams would look very similar to the ones you picked. I might flip Durant and George or Westbrook and Irving, and I’m still torn over Walker vs. Beal as the second guard on the Third Team. But if the All-NBA teams end up looking like the ones listed above, I wouldn’t be particularly surprised or disappointed.

What do you think? Do you disagree strongly with any of these choices? Do you expect major discrepancies when the official All-NBA teams are announced? Let us know in the comment section!

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2019 NBA Offseason Salary Cap Digest: Minnesota Timberwolves

April 26th, 2019 at 12:09pm CST by Luke Adams

After ending a long playoff drought last spring, the Timberwolves took a step backward in 2018/19, as they were forced to move on from one of the players (Jimmy Butler) who helped them reach new heights. With franchise cornerstone Karl-Anthony Towns locked up for the next five years, there’s reason to believe Minnesota can have sustained success, but the club might first need to get out from under some pricey contracts for non-stars.

Here’s where things currently stand for the Timberwolves financially, as we continue our Offseason Salary Cap Digest series for 2019:

Guaranteed Salary

Player Options

  • None

Team Options

  • None

Non-Guaranteed Salary

Restricted Free Agents

Unrestricted Free Agents / Other Cap Holds

Projected Salary Cap: $109,000,000
Projected Tax Line: $132,000,000

Offseason Cap Outlook

  • Realistic cap room projection: $0
  • Even without accounting for any of their free agents or players on non-guaranteed salaries, the Timberwolves project to be over the cap this summer. They’ll go further over the cap if Towns is named to an All-NBA team, which would increase his salary by approximately $5.5MM. In that scenario, they’ll probably be more concerned with staying under the tax line than carving out any cap space.

Cap Exceptions Available

  • Trade exception: $2,667,600 (expires 11/12/19)
  • Mid-level exception: $9,246,000 4
  • Bi-annual exception: $3,619,000 4

Footnotes

  1. This is a projected value. Additionally, if Towns earns All-NBA honors, his projected salary would increase to $32,700,000.
  2. The salaries for two-way players don’t count against a team’s cap, but their cap holds do during the offseason.
  3. Brooks’ cap hold remains on the Timberwolves’ books because he hasn’t been renounced after going unsigned in 2018/19. He can’t be used in a sign-and-trade deal.
  4. These are projected values. In the unlikely event the Timberwolves use cap room, they’d lose these exceptions (and their trade exception) and would instead would gain access to the $4,760,000 room exception. Additionally, the Wolves will not be able to use these exceptions if their team salary exceeds the tax apron. In that scenario, they’d instead receive the taxpayer mid-level exception, worth a projected $5,711,000.

Note: Minimum-salary and rookie-scale cap holds are estimates based on salary cap projections and could increase or decrease depending on where the cap lands.

Salary information from Basketball Insiders and RealGM was used in the creation of this post. Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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Community Shootaround: More Compelling Eastern Conference Semifinal

April 25th, 2019 at 7:23pm CST by clarkcrum

The Eastern Conference semifinals are set and NBA fans have a great weekend to look forward to, with the 76ers traveling north of the border to take on the Raptors this Saturday followed by the Celtics traveling to Milwaukee to face the top-seeded Bucks on Sunday afternoon.

The Bucks took two out of three from the Celts during the regular season, with the Bucks winning on their home floor and the teams splitting the two games played in Boston. Both teams are coming off impressive sweeps – of the Pacers (albeit without Victor Oladipo) and Pistons – and will now face off against a more even-matched opponent.

The Bucks lost to the Celtics in last year’s postseason, falling in Game 7 to a Celtics team led by Terry Rozier, Al Horford, and Jayson Tatum. Both Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward are now back in the fold, but the Bucks are also a much better team this season behind MVP candidate Giannis Antetokounmpo and new head coach Mike Budenholzer.

On the other side of the bracket, the Sixers and Raptors will face each other in the postseason for the first time since 2001, when the Sixers and Hall-of-Famer Allen Iverson pulled out the series win in Game 7 despite a stellar performance from an in-his-prime Vince Carter. The Sixers are looking to return to the NBA Finals for the first time since that season, while the Raptors are looking for the first conference championship in franchise history.

The two-seeded Raptors won the regular season series between the teams 3-1, with Toronto winning both games at Scotiabank Arena and the Sixers splitting their home games at Wells Fargo Center. Both teams have new faces this postseason, with the Raptors adding Kawhi Leonard this summer and the Sixers trading for starters Jimmy Butler and Tobias Harris during the 2018/19 season.

So, based on the above and any other factors you may consider, which match-up do you think will be the most compelling? Will either or both series go the full seven games? Will there be a sweep? Let us know what you think in the comments.

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2019 NBA Offseason Salary Cap Digest: New York Knicks

April 25th, 2019 at 5:00pm CST by Luke Adams

There was plenty not to like about the Knicks‘ 2018/19 season. They lost an NBA-worst 65 games; they traded a potential franchise player, Kristaps Porzingis, to Dallas in a deal primarily aimed at creating cap flexibility and acquiring far-off assets; and young prospects Frank Ntilikina and Kevin Knox looked shaky. Still, there’s optimism in New York heading into the 2019 offseason, given the club’s two maximum salary contract slots and whispers that top free agents will seriously consider the Knicks.

Here’s where things currently stand for the Knicks financially, as we continue our Offseason Salary Cap Digest series for 2019:

Guaranteed Salary

Player Options

  • None

Team Options

Non-Guaranteed Salary

Restricted Free Agents

Unrestricted Free Agents / Other Cap Holds

Projected Salary Cap: $109,000,000
Projected Tax Line: $132,000,000

Offseason Cap Outlook

  • Maximum cap room projection: $73.2MM
  • This cap projection assumes the Knicks renounce all their free agents, decline their team options, and waive their players on non-guaranteed salaries. It would give the Knicks enough cap space for two maximum salary contracts, assuming at least one of those two players isn’t a 10-year veteran.
  • If the Knicks don’t need every cent of their cap room for two max contracts, they may not be quite as aggressive in purging their lower-priced players. If the club were to retain Trier and Dotson, for instance, that would reduce its cap room projection to $69.8MM.

Cap Exceptions Available

  • Room exception: $4,760,000 3

Footnotes

  1. Thomas’ salary becomes partially guaranteed ($1MM) after June 30.
  2. Dotson’s salary becomes fully guaranteed after July 15.
  3. This is a projected value. Assuming the Knicks use cap room, they’ll lose access to one trade exception ($1,435,750; expires 2/7/20).

Note: Minimum-salary and rookie-scale cap holds are estimates based on salary cap projections and could increase or decrease depending on where the cap lands.

Salary information from Basketball Insiders and RealGM was used in the creation of this post. Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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Hoops Rumors’ 2019 NBA Award Picks: Most Valuable Player

April 25th, 2019 at 10:05am CST by Hoops Rumors

While the NBA won’t announce this year’s award winners until June, we’re making our picks for 2019’s major awards now.

The Hoops Rumors writing team has weighed in with our choices below, but we also want to know which players, coaches, and executives you think are most deserving of the hardware this season, so jump into the comment section below to share your thoughts.

We’re wrapping things up today with the award for Most Valuable Player. Here are our selections:

Chris Crouse: James Harden (Rockets)
This year’s tight MVP race features two players whose teams built an entire offense around them. The scheme in Milwaukee is designed around Giannis Antetokounmpo‘s play-making ability and lack of shooting. Harden’s masterful game is what powers Houston.

Giannis blossomed into a superstar during the 2018/19 season, blending his athleticism with a smart, fundamentally sound game. He led the league in win shares per 48 minutes and in player efficiency rating. Eight of the past 10 regular season leaders in PER have taken home the MVP award.

Harden, the reigning MVP, maintained his level of play this season, capping off a three-year stretch in which he realstically could have earned three Maurice Podoloff Trophies. In 2018/19, he led the league in win shares (15.2), points per game (36.1), and VORP (9.89, which ranks 12th all-time).

As I mentioned in part two of our “Contract MVPs,” Giannis played under 2,400 minutes this season, ranking 47th in the league (sandwiched between CJ McCollum and Nicolas Batum). The Bucks were able to regularly handle competition and let Antetokounmpo sit early. Harden finished second in the league in time accrued, behind only Bradley Beal.

Should we penalize Antetokounmpo for the Bucks being a much better regular season team than the Rockets? No, but we also shouldn’t discount what Harden was able to do, carrying a team plagued with instability because of injuries and a new cast of rotation players.

Both players are deserving, but Harden gets my vote.

Dana Gauruder: James Harden (Rockets)
I can’t fault anyone who votes for Antetokounmpo, but here’s the stat that tips the scale for me — Harden’s 36.1 PPG is the highest since Michael Jordan averaged a career-high 37.1 in 1986/87. Harden was a one-man band on quite a few occasions, as Chris Paul missed 24 games and Clint Capela sat out 15 due to injuries. Despite facing defenses completely geared to stop him, Harden rarely had an off night. When the situation called for him to be more of a play-maker, he notched double digits in assists 24 times.

Arthur Hill: James Harden (Rockets)
The MVP narrative favors Antetokounmpo, who was the best player on the team with the best record, but Harden deserves the honor for a second consecutive year thanks to a historically great season. Harden posted the 10th 2,800-point season in league history and won the scoring race by a margin of 8.1 PPG. He also became the first player ever to average 36 points, seven assists and six rebounds in the same season.

Harden rallied the Rockets to the No. 4 seed after a painfully slow start, putting up scoring numbers we haven’t seen in years while lifting his injury-riddled team up the standings. Antetokounmpo may have led the Bucks to 60 wins, but many of those came in an Eastern Conference that only had three other good teams once the Pacers lost Victor Oladipo. The Rockets were 53-29, so seven extra wins against weaker competition shouldn’t be enough for anyone to take away Harden’s trophy.

JD Shaw: James Harden (Rockets)
I was Team Giannis heading into the season and for roughly the first half of the campaign, but what Harden has been able to accomplish in 2019 is historically great — especially on the offensive end. He ended with 36.1 points per game on the year, the NBA’s highest mark in over three decades. He led his team to a 53-29 record despite dealing with injuries across the roster. You can’t go wrong with choosing either him or Antetokounmpo, really, but I’m sticking with Harden.

Luke Adams: Giannis Antetokounmpo (Bucks)
There’s no doubt that Harden has posted historic numbers this season, but the same can be said of Antetokounmpo. The last – and only – player to match his 27.7 PPG, 12.5 RPG, and 5.9 APG was Oscar Robertson in his infamous triple-double season back in 1961/62, per Basketball-Reference.

Antetokounmpo put up those numbers while also helping to anchor the league’s best defense by net rating. Harden isn’t as bad defensively as certain YouTube compilations may suggest, but his impact on that end of the floor pales in comparison to Giannis’ — The Greek Freak ranked in the top 10 in the NBA in blocks per game (1.5) and in the top 15 in three-point shots contested per game (4.1), showing off a defensive versatility that allowed him to hound offensive players both on the perimeter and at the rim. He’s a legit Defensive Player of the Year candidate.

Antetokounmpo’s on/off court stats also reflect his value. The Bucks (+2.7) and Rockets (+2.4) had fairly similar net ratings with their respective stars on the bench, but Milwaukee was absolutely dominant when Giannis played (+12.8 net rating), while Houston’s numbers when Harden played were simply very good (+6.4).

The quality of competition argument in Harden’s favor isn’t a particularly compelling one to me, given that the Bucks had a better winning percentage than the Rockets against both Eastern Conference opponents (.769 to .700) and Western foes (.667 to .615). I’m not overly swayed by Harden’s role in the Rockets’ midseason resurgence either, impressive as it was, since it’s not as if he didn’t also have a hand in the team’s 11-14 start. That was the sort of slump the Bucks never experienced, thanks in large part to Giannis’ dominance over 82 games.

Clark Crum: James Harden (Rockets)
This is a tough decision for me between The Beard and The Greek Freak, but I think Harden is closing the gap between himself and LeBron James as the greatest player in the world (sorry, Kevin Durant). That opinion, combined with Harden’s ridiculous ability to put the ball into the hoop this season (his 2,818 total points scored are the most since Kobe Bryant in 2005/06, when The Black Mamba scored 2,832 points in two more games played) has me giving the slight edge to Harden.

Yes, I know Antetokounmpo had an all-time great stat line as well, and that his team had a better record. But the Western Conference is still better than the Eastern Conference and Harden had to carry the Rockets on his back for a large portion of the season due to injuries to key teammates. If Giannis wins, it would be well-deserved, but if I had to pick one of the two, I’d pick Harden.

Austin Kent: James Harden (Rockets)
It’s physically painful for any sane basketball fan to say that Antetokounmpo shouldn’t be named the 2018/19 MVP, but year-end awards are imperfect traditions.

To put it simply, Antetokounmpo is a 24-year-old marvel who just recorded one of the most mind-blowing seasons in NBA history. Unfortunately, there’s only one name permitted on the ballot and while Antetokounmpo’s 2018/19 campaign may very well have been worthy of the award in countless previous seasons, it just missed the cut in, well, 2018/19.

Here’s why I’ve given Harden the nod: While both Harden and Antetokounmpo have reached unprecedented levels of dominance, Harden is the one that has reinvented and refined his game to single-handedly drag a ho-hum roster to title contention. Harden’s ability to adjust his game to execute Mike D’Antoni‘s offense deserves more recognition than it gets.

Antetokounmpo’s method is a relatively simple one: be gigantic, mythically athletic, and one of the hardest working players in the NBA. Harden, in contrast, has taken a relatively pedestrian NBA body, choreographed his footwork to the rhythm of a geometry text book and somehow established himself as one of the most potent point catalysts in NBA history.

In an era of padded stats and data-driven efficiency, Harden has Moneyballed the actual physics of the sport. He’s not Shaquille O’Neal dunking with an opposing team’s frontcourt hanging off his back; he’s not LeBron James running like a train in transition; he’s a portly combo guard who exploits weaknesses and studies angles like a teenager who makes $100K per year destroying people in Counter-Strike.

Harden has always been an All-Star caliber guard but now he’s an All-Star caliber guard who draws fouls better than any player in the league – to the chagrin of everyone – and has perfected a step-back that renders anybody with less than a seven-foot wingspan helpless.

I eagerly await what comes next from Antetokounmpo – there’s no question that he’s the NBA’s Best Asset – but if limited to one pick for MVP, I’m going with the mortal who figured out a new way to play a 100-year-old sport. I think in the tome of NBA history, that’s a more valuable chapter.

Who is your pick for Most Valuable Player? Share your choices and your thoughts in the comment section below!

Previously:

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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