Tag: NBA MVP

NBA awards ballots: Unusual votes involving the Houston Rockets

James Harden finishing on the All-NBA First Team was a consensus view among voters. Harden on the All-Defensive First Team? Not as much.

In the NBA’s awards voting for the 2019-20 regular season, some choices had a relatively clear consensus view. For example, out of the 100 global media members who formed the league’s panel, 89 voted Houston Rockets superstar James Harden to the All-NBA First Team.

Only one out of 100, however, had Harden on the All-Defensive First Team. (The names and affiliations of the 100 voters are available here.)

With all awards handed out, the NBA on Saturday released the specific ballots from each voter. Here’s a look at some unusual votes — i.e. those that were minority viewpoints — involving the Houston Rockets.

Some of these are better than the consensus, like Harden’s All-Defensive First Team vote. Others, however, are worse than the consensus — such as the 16 voters that didn’t have Harden in the top five of MVP voting.

James Harden MVP votes (finished third):

Second place: Chris Hine, Minneapolis Star Tribune

Fourth place: Kevin Arnovitz, ESPN; Ric Bucher, Bleacher Report; Nick Kosmider, The Athletic; Greg Logan, Newsday; Dave Pasch, ESPN; Shaun Powell, NBA.com; Jason Quick, The Athletic; Remi Reverchon, BeIN Sport (France); Sekou Smith, NBA.com; Joe Vardon, The Athletic

Fifth place: Antoine Bancharel, Canal + Afrique; Marc Berman, New York Post; Chris Broussard, Fox Sports; Joe Cowley, Chicago Sun-Times; Jared Greenberg, Turner; Zach Harper, The Athletic; Erik Horne; The Athletic; Mark Jones, ESPN; Duane Rankin, Arizona Republic; Doug Smith, The Toronto Star;

Not in top five: Greg Anthony, Turner; Steve Aschburner, NBA.com; Tim Bontemps, ESPN; Shams Charania, The Athletic/Stadium; Davide Chinellato, La Gazzetta dello Sport; Antoni Daimiel, Movistar+; Frank Isola, Sirius Radio; Coral Lu, ESPN-Tencent; Brian Mahoney, Associated Press; Keith Pompey, Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily News; Bill Simmons, The Ringer; Seerat Sohi, Yahoo! Sports; Justin Termine, Sirius Radio; Brian Windhorst, ESPN; Royce Young, ESPN

James Harden All-NBA votes:

First Team: 89 voters

Second Team (9): Shams Charania, The Athletic; Antoni Daimiel, Movistar+; Frank Isola, Sirius Radio; Sekou Smith, NBA.com; Amin Elhassan, ESPN; Steve Aschburner, NBA.com; Justin Termine, Sirius Radio; Brian Windhorst, ESPN; Tim Bontemps, ESPN

Third Team (2): Davide Chinellato, La Gazzetta dello Sport; Seerat Sohi, Yahoo! Sports

Here’s who voted for James Harden and Russell Westbrook to the All-Defensive Team (each had one vote out of 100):

Harden All-Defensive First Team: Duane Rankin, Arizona Republic;
Westbrook All-Defensive Second Team: Greg Logan, Newsday

P.J. Tucker, who narrowly missed out on the All-Defensive Second Team, had 29 out of 100 media members vote for him. Here’s who they are:

All-Defensive Second Team: Sam Amick, The Athletic; Steve Aschburner, NBA.com; Howard Beck, Bleacher Report; Davide Chinellato, La Gazzetta dello Sport; Will Guillory, The Athletic; Kevin Harlan, Turner; Zach Harper, The Athletic; Kurt Helin, NBCsports.com; Adam Himmelsbach, Boston Globe; Erik Horne, The Athletic; Cassidy Hubbarth, ESPN; Kelly Iko, The Athletic; Mark Jones, ESPN; Andy Larsen, Salt Lake Tribune; Kristen Ledlow, Turner; Connor Letourneau, San Francisco Chronicle; Coral Lu, ESPN-Tencent; Jackie MacMullan, ESPN; Jeff McDonald, San Antonio Express-News; Mark Medina, USA Today; Yoko Miyaji, Sports Graphic Number; Rachel Nichols, ESPN; Jason Quick, The Athletic; Steve Smith, Turner; Casey Stern, Turner; Justin Termine, Sirius Radio; Gary Washburn, Boston Globe; Brian Windhorst, ESPN; Matt Winer, Turner

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Though Russell Westbrook made the All-NBA Third Team at guard, ballots were largely split, with 62 out of 100 voters not including him on any All-NBA team. Among the 38 who did, 29 had him on the Third Team, while nine placed him on the Second Team. Here are his voters:

All-NBA Second Team (9): Davide Chinellato, La Gazzetta dello Sport; Adam Himmelsbach, Boston Globe; Mark Jackson, ESPN; Nick Kosmider, The Athletic; Greg Logan, Newsday; Jeff McDonald, San Antonio Express-News; Keith Pompey, Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily News; Tim Reynolds, Associated Press; Joe Vardon, The Athletic

All-NBA Third Team (29): Matt Winer, Turner; Michael Wilbon, ESPN; Gary Washburn, Boston Globe; Matt Velazquez, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel; Brad Townsend, Dallas Morning News; Steve Smith, Turner; Stephen A. Smith, ESPN; Marv Albert, Turner; Sam Amick, The Athletic; Greg Anthony, Turner; Renjun Bao, Tencent; Mike Breen, ESPN; Chris Broussard, Fox Sports; Joe Cowley, Chicago Sun-Times; Will Guillory, The Athletic; Kevin Harlan, Turner; Zach Harper, The Athletic; Chris Haynes, Yahoo! Sports; Chris Hine, Minneapolis Star Tribune; Erik Horne, The Athletic; Kelly Iko, The Athletic; Ernie Johnson, Turner; Brian Mahoney, Associated Press; Dave McMenamin, ESPN; Yoko Miyaji, Sports Graphic Number; Rachel Nichols, ESPN; Jason Quick, The Athletic; Ramona Shelburne, ESPN; Remi Reverchon, BeIN Sport (France)

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No other Houston Rockets player or coach received votes. All votes were cast prior to the league’s late July restart of the 2019-20 regular season, as a means of being fair to the eight NBA teams who were not invited.

For the Rockets, this included only the 64-game portion of the schedule from the season’s launch in October 2019 until its March 11 suspension due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Rockets were 40-24 and the No. 6 seed in the Western Conference at the time of the awards voting.

The complete ballots for all voters can be accessed here.

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Draymond Green believes LeBron James should win the 2020 NBA MVP award

After the finalists for the 2019-2020 NBA Most Valuable Player award were announced, Draymond Green cast his vote for LeBron James.

On Saturday, the league announced a trio of finalists for the NBA’s 2020 Most Valuable Player award.

Reigning MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo joined Houston’s James Harden and LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers on the list of finalists for the 2020 edition of the award.

With no members of the Golden State Warriors having a chance to take home hardware in 2020, Draymond Green revealed his pick for who should win the Maurice Podoloff Trophy. In an appearance on NBA on TNT, Green cast his vote for James.

Via @TurnerSportsPR on Twitter:

I’m going with LeBron [James]. I think the year LeBron has had — resurrecting that Lakers franchise, I think that has to stand for something. So I’m going with LeBron.

On his way to leading the Lakers to the top-seed in the Western Conference, James is averaging 25.3 points on 49.4% shooting from the field with 10.3 assists and 8.0 boards in 64 games. James’ 10.3 assists per contest is a career-high mark for the 16-year veteran.

In two games against Green and the Warriors in 2019-20, James has recorded a pair of double-doubles in each contest. In November against Golden State, James tallied 23 points, 12 assists and six rebounds. Later in February, the four-time MVP notched 22 points and 11 assists in the Lakers 125-120 victory.

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Before the Lakers enter the postseason for the first time since 2013, James will have three games left in the seeding round of the Orlando Bubble to add to his potential MVP campaign.

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Rockets star James Harden named one of NBA’s three MVP finalists

“The Beard” joined Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Bucks and LeBron James of the Lakers as finalists for the NBA’s 2019-20 MVP award.

Houston Rockets star James Harden was named Saturday as one of the NBA’s three finalists for its 2019-20 MVP award.

This is the fourth consecutive year that Harden has been an MVP finalist, which the NBA began doing with the 2016-17 season — when it launched a formal NBA Awards program. The awards are determined by a global media panel of sportswriters and broadcasters.

All votes have already been cast based on games played prior to the NBA’s recent restart at Disney World, as a means of being fair to the eight teams who were not invited to participate. Winners will be announced during the 2020 NBA playoffs, which are set to begin on August 17.

Various media forecasts have shown Harden finishing third, trailing Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks and LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers. Now 30 years old, Harden has placed second in MVP voting on three occasions (2014-15, 2016-17, 2018-19) with the Rockets, and he won the award for the 2017-18 season.

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Harden is leading the Rockets and the NBA in scoring this year at a 34.3 points per game clip, which is just the third time in over 30 years that a player has averaged at least 34 points in a season. (The other two were Harden’s 36.1 last season and Kobe Bryant’s 35.4 in 2005-06.)

Assuming “The Beard” keeps his scoring average above 34 after the four remaining regular-season games, Harden will become just the third player in league history to average at least 34 points in two different seasons, joining Michael Jordan and Wilt Chamberlain. Over his eight years to date in Houston, Harden has earned All-Star honors in all of them while leading his Rockets to the playoffs during each season.

In addition to his historic scoring numbers, Harden ranks eighth in the NBA in assists at 7.5 per game this season. He’s also No. 5 in steals (1.8).

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Poll: James Harden poised for fourth straight All-NBA First Team

The new poll of NBA awards voters suggests that Harden will make the All-NBA First Team for the sixth time in eight seasons in Houston.

For a fourth straight year and the sixth time over his eight seasons in Houston, Rockets guard James Harden will make the All-NBA First Team.

As the 2019-20 regular season winds down, HoopsHype asked media members voting for the official NBA awards to share their ballots. Combined with those who made their picks public, 18 were obtained.

Per HoopsHype’s findings, Harden has nearly 98% of the expected vote for the All-NBA First Team.

Luka Doncic (82.2 percent)
James Harden (97.8 percent)
Giannis Antetokounmpo (100 percent)
LeBron James (100 percent)
Anthony Davis (95.6 percent)

Harden is also projected to finish third in the MVP race, comfortably ahead of fourth-place finisher Luka Doncic. Now 30 years old, the future Hall of Famer and eight-time NBA All-Star has finished second, first, and second in MVP voting in each of his last three seasons.

1. Giannis Antetokounmpo (100 percent)
2. LeBron James (70 percent)
3. James Harden (42.2 percent)
4. Luka Doncic (20.6 percent)
5. Kawhi Leonard (12.2 percent)

Harden is leading the Rockets and the NBA in scoring this year at a 34.2 points per game clip, which is just the third time in over 30 years that a player has averaged at least 34 points in a season. (The other two were Harden’s 36.1 last season and Kobe Bryant’s 35.4 in 2005-06.)

Assuming “The Beard” keeps his scoring average above 34 after the four remaining regular-season games, Harden will become just the third player in league history to average at least 34 points in two different seasons, joining Michael Jordan and Wilt Chamberlain. Over his eight seasons to date in Houston, Harden has earned All-Star honors in all of them while leading his Rockets to the playoffs during each season.

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As for the rest of HoopsHype‘s poll, Russell Westbrook and P.J. Tucker each narrowly missed out on the All-NBA Third Team and All-Defensive Second Team, respectively. However, the margin was close enough that it remains possible for either or both to ultimately receive the honor.

All of this year’s award winners will be named during NBA playoffs, according to the league, with no precise dates available just yet.

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Where’s the beef? Antetokounmpo, Harden meet for first time in 2020

Sunday night’s game between the Rockets and Bucks is the first since a series of testy comments in February between the last two MVPs.

Sunday night’s game between the Rockets and Bucks at the NBA “bubble” is the first showdown in 2020 between Houston guard James Harden and Milwaukee forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, the league’s last two MVPs and the first and second-place finishers in a lively 2018-19 debate.

It’s also the first in-person meeting between the superstars since a series of targeted comments between the two in February.

February’s apparent drama started when Antetokounmpo, as the top fan vote-getter in the Eastern Conference, was drafting his All-Star team. Antetokounmpo picked Boston guard Kemba Walker over Harden, adding that he wanted “someone that can pass.” (It was a curious comment, since Harden averages 7.4 assists per game to Walker’s 4.9.)

Then, after the All-Star Game, “The Greek Freak” said his team’s strategy late in the game was to attack Harden. (It didn’t work, and it was another odd observation, since Harden grades out as an elite post defender.)

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“Offensively, we were just trying to find whoever James Harden was guarding,” Antetokounmpo said postgame. “That’s who we thought we’d have the opportunity to score on.”

Finally, during an interview with ESPN’s Rachel Nichols that aired later that same month, “The Beard” clapped back in a big way.

“You do have people talking about some of the stereotypes that have blown up around you,” Nichols said. “Charles Barkley, when they had the All-Star draft, was saying ‘Oh, no one wants to take James Harden, he’s a dribbler.’ Giannis makes a joke on the air about I want to take someone who can pass, I’m taking Kemba Walker instead of James Harden.”

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Harden’s response:

Harden: I average more assists than him, I think.

Nichols: You rank 10th in assists going into the All-Star break, and Kemba ranked 36th in assists.

Harden: I don’t see what the joke is. But I didn’t even see it. I don’t pay attention to stuff like that. I just know that none of them can mess with me. [laughs]

From there, Harden’s criticism became even more direct in an apparent jab at the 6-foot-11 Antetokounmpo’s playing style.

“Daryl Morey, your general manager, had a great line to kind of address all of that,” Nichols said as the conversation continued. “He said, ‘Being different doesn’t really get appreciated until it works.'”

Harden: Yeah, when I’m done. When it’s all said and done, they’ll appreciate it more. But I wish I could just be 7-feet and run and just dunk. That takes no skill at all. [laughs] I’ve got to actually learn how to play basketball and have skill. I’ll take that any day.

Nichols: Do you think that in the end, a title is going to give you the respect that you deserve?

Harden: Yeah, it is. And I will get it.

Last offseason, in comments that may have rankled Antetokounmpo and/or those around him, Harden continually referred to the role of media narratives in the annual MVP selection process. Some around the league viewed that as an attempt to undermine Antetokounmpo’s win.

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More recently, there have been signs of the tensions starting to ease. When asked about Harden’s pointed comments, Antetokounmpo downplayed the situation and said he was just trying to do his job.

I’m not the type of guy to take stabs at somebody. … I’m just trying to do my job which is win games and go back home to my family. At the end of the day, if that’s what he believes that’s what he believes. I can’t say anything about it. I’ve just got to keep being focused.

In late March, Antetokounmpo even seemed to extend an olive branch when he identified Harden as the NBA’s hardest player to guard.

The Rockets and Bucks would have played on March 25 in Milwaukee, but that game was scrapped due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, Sunday in Florida is the first meeting between the stars since then.

Now 25 years old, Antetokounmpo is averaging 29.8 points (55.0% FG), 13.8 rebounds, and 5.8 assists per game this season. Meanwhile, the 30-year-old Harden leads the NBA in scoring for a third consecutive year at 34.6 points, and he also tallies 7.4 assists and 6.4 rebounds per game.

Both are expected to finish in the top three of MVP voting this season.

Sunday’s tip-off between the Rockets (41-24) and Bucks (54-12) is set for 7:30 p.m. Central, with a regional broadcast (featuring Houston announcers) available on AT&T SportsNet Southwest and a national telecast on ABC. The game can be streamed via NBA League Pass, and subscribers to ESPN can also watch it through the ESPN App.

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Who will win NBA Regular Season MVP? Bank on these best bets

Analyzing NBA odds around the 2019-20 regular season MVP, with best bets to make around the award.

The NBA restart is almost here and that means it’s time to look ahead to some awards. Below, we make our best NBA bets for who will win the 2019-2020 NBA regular season MVP award.

2019-20 NBA Regular Season MVP Award Bets

Odds provided by BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated Friday, July 24, at 9 a.m. ET.

Milwaukee Bucks PF Giannis Antetokounmpo (-2500)

The prohibitive favorite, Bucks PF Giannis Antetokounmpo, appears to be a lock to win his second straight MVP Award. He managed to improve on his scoring (29.6 points per game) and his rebounding (13.7 rebounds per game) despite averaging two fewer minutes per game this season.

Not only is the “Greek Freak” filling up the stat sheet, but he has also led the Bucks to the best record in the NBA. He was the league’s most dominant player throughout the entire season and it’s tough to see voters picking anyone else but Antetokoupo this season.

While Antetokounmpo is the massive favorite, there just isn’t enough value here to make this bet. He is very likely to win the award given the success of the Bucks and his stats, but the risk is too great and the payoff is too low. PASS on Antetokounmpo to win the 2019-2020 NBA MVP Award.

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Los Angeles Lakers SF LeBron James (+900)

Like Antetokounmpo, James has also led his team to the No. 1 seed in the conference and he has done it by filling up the stat sheet.

At the age of 35, James is currently averaging a career-high of 10.6 assists per game. He’s finding ways to get his teammates involved and picking his spots when he needs to score. James is still averaging nearly 26 PPG, while shooting 49.8% from the field.

James’ only real shot at winning the award is if voters have “fatigue” from picking Antetokunmpo. While James’ stats and his team record are all excellent, they do fall short of Antetokumpo; however, LeBron is still a better bet (+900) than Giannis, given the odds and the potential payout.

Los Angeles Lakers PF Anthony Davis (+10000)

The only other player worth considering at all for the 2019-2020 MVP Award is Lakers PF Anthony Davis. In his first season with the Lakers, he’s been a dominant force on both ends of the floor. He’s averaging 26.7 PPG on 51.1% shooting. Davis has been the backbone of the Lakers’ defense as well, averaging 2.4 blocks and 1.5 steals per game.

Despite helping the Lakers to the No. 1 seed in the West, it feels unlikely voters would pick him over LeBron for the award. Even at the +10000 odds, avoid betting on Davis or any other long shot as this is really a two-horse race between Antetokunmpo and James.

Also see:

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Damian Lillard believes LeBron James is the 2019-20 NBA MVP

Portland Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard believes that LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers was this season’s NBA MVP.

Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard has been busy in the media this week, campaigning for his squad to be included in the NBA’s restarted season/expanded playoff format, as well as appearing on ESPN to chop it up with several of their shows about the NBA and his own situation. But what made Lillard’s appearance more notable is that he joins Boston’s Jayson Tatum as the highest-profile players who believe that LeBron James, not Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetkounmpo, should be the MVP for the 2019-20 season.

Lillard, obviously, sees LeBron more times per year playing against him in the Western Conference, but he believes his play at such a high-level, especially after being written off last year, is worthy of the MVP.

Players often have opinions that divert from the consensus, especially with the MVP award. Last year, James Harden won the “Player’s Choice” MVP award, over Giannis, which is an award Harden has won before. It appears that at least according to a couple of the league’s biggest stars, LeBron is the player’s choice for 2019-20.

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Jayson Tatum doubles down on Harden as deserving 2019 MVP

When pressed by ESPN’s Rachel Nichols, Tatum explained why he thinks James Harden was the deserving 2019 MVP over Giannis Antetokounmpo.

In a new appearance on ESPN‘s The Jump, Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum stood by his recent opinion that Houston Rockets guard James Harden deserved to win the NBA’s 2018-19 MVP award.

While acknowledging that Milwaukee forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (who won the media-voted award) also had a deserving case, Tatum told Rachel Nichols why he’s sticking with Harden as his choice.

You were splitting hairs last year in choosing between those two. I don’t think there’s a wrong case, but to me, it’s James Harden.

When he scored 30 for like 42 games in a row or something like that… Chris Paul was hurt a lot, and they were dealing with a lot of injuries.

It’s just, what he was doing was pretty remarkable.

Tatum’s recollection of Harden’s streak was slightly exaggerated, but not by much. Starting in December 2018, the league’s 2017-18 MVP scored 30 or more points in 32 consecutive games, which remains the second-longest streak in NBA history. That stretch helped the Rockets go 42-15 over their final 57 games of the season, which was the best of any Western Conference team over that span.

In all, Harden averaged a career-high 36.1 points last season, along with 7.5 assists and 6.6 rebounds. That 36.1 total represents the most points per game by any NBA player since Hall of Famer Michael Jordan averaged 37.1 more than 30 years ago, back in the 1986-87 season.

Meawhile, Antetokounmpo averaged 27.7 points, 12.5 rebounds, 5.9 assists and 1.5 blocks. The “Greek Freak” led the Bucks (60-22) to the league’s best record, and he made the NBA All-Defensive First Team. Both Antetokounmpo and Harden were named to the All-NBA First Team.

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Since the calendar flipped to 2018, Harden’s Rockets have won all five head-to-head meetings against Tatum’s Celtics, including an overtime thriller on Feb. 29 in the most recent matchup. Tatum led Boston with 32 points and 13 rebounds, but a clutch steal by Harden in the final 30 seconds followed by a pair of free throws were ultimately the difference.

In a home game earlier that same month, Harden led the Rockets with 42 points in an 11-point Houston victory.

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Jayson Tatum says James Harden should have won 2019 MVP

Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum says the NBA’s 2018-19 MVP award should have gone to James Harden, rather than Giannis Antetokounmpo.

In an Instagram Live session with basketball skills coach and consultant Pep Stanciel, Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum said Wednesday that he thinks the wrong player won the NBA’s MVP award last season.

Rather than Milwaukee forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, Tatum says the award should have gone to Houston Rockets guard James Harden.

Here’s how the exchange went between Stanciel and Tatum, who also said he believes Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James should win the 2019-20 season’s MVP award over Antetokounmpo.

Tatum: James Harden should have won MVP last year.

Stanciel: They’ve been robbing him for five straight years now!

Tatum: I’m not going to say five, but he definitely should have won back-to-back MVPs.

In the video, Tatum also picked Harden as the NBA’s best shooting guard. Since the calendar flipped to 2018, Harden’s Rockets have won all five head-to-head meetings against Tatum’s Celtics.

Harden, the league’s 2017-18 MVP, averaged a career-high 36.1 points per game last season to go with 7.5 assists and 6.6 rebounds. That total included the second-longest streak of consecutive 30-point games (32) in NBA history, which helped Houston go 42-15 over its final 57 games.

Meawhile, Antetokounmpo averaged 27.7 points, 12.5 rebounds, 5.9 assists and 1.5 blocks. The “Greek Freak” led the Bucks (60-22) to the league’s best record, and he made the NBA All-Defensive First Team. Both Antetokounmpo and Harden were named to the All-NBA First Team.

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Chris Paul deserves to be in the conversation for NBA MVP

He likely won’t win the award, but his contributions to the Thunder during his first season in Oklahoma City shouldn’t go unnoticed.

Chris Paul has spent the season showing that he’s still one of the best players in the NBA.

Sure, he’s not averaging a double-double anymore, but what he’s done during his first season in Oklahoma City has had a much bigger impact than just scoring points or dishing out assists.

Paul has taken on the primary leadership role since being traded to the Thunder in July 2019, and the team has responded by taking on the mentality of their Point God.

It’s why some analysts believe that this year’s Thunder team is better than last year’s, despite not having either Russell Westbrook or Paul George.

OKC isn’t the most talented team in the league, but they are one of the toughest. Time and time again they’ve proved that they are never out of any game, and they’ve continued to come through when the game is on the line.

In all likelihood, Chris Paul won’t win his second NBA MVP award for his play this season. But Nick Crain of Forbes believes that he at least deserves to be in the conversation.

At 34 years old, he is averaging 17.7 points, 6.8 assists, and 4.9 rebounds per game on 90.0% shooting from line and is only attempting 12.8 shots per game. As someone who has missed many games due to injury throughout his career, he has only missed one game all season and it wasn’t even due to injury.

Paul’s statistics are probably the least important thing that he’s brought to Oklahoma City this season. More than just the numbers, Paul has been a mentor to up-and-coming players like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Darius Bazley. He’s been a facilitator and a teacher, as well as a point guard, and his impact has trickled down throughout the rest of the team.

Paul has taken a backseat on offense this season has and allowed others to take over throughout the game. That being said, at the end of games, when it is time to take care of business and pull out a win, he has shined like no other. He leads the NBA in the clutch points (144) and is the main reason the Oklahoma City Thunder have been the NBA’s most clutch team this season.

Oklahoma City was 40-24 and in fifth in the Western Conference when the league was suspended effective immediately after Rudy Gobert became the first player in the league to test positive for the coronavirus ahead of Utah’s game against the Thunder on March 11.