For the past three years, James Harden has put up MVP-worthy seasons with some phenomenal offensive plays. This hasn’t translated to him actually winning the award as he has finished second place in two out of the three years. This year, he’s elevated his game to an even higher level and is on pace to finally take home the award.

Harden is scoring 31.7 points-per-game, passing for nearly 10 assists a game and grabbing 5 rebounds-per-game. While the rebound and assist numbers may be lower than last year when he finished second place in the MVP voting, he has decreased the number of times he turns over the ball and has become a much more efficient player.

Last year, Harden turned the ball over 5.7 times a game and set the NBA record for the most turnovers in a season. A record which he previously owned in the 2015-2016 season. Despite this, he still finished in the top 10 of player efficiency and would’ve won the MVP if Russell Westbrook didn’t put up the greatest statistical season of all time.

This season, Harden had decreased his turnovers to 4.8 a game. Still one of the worst in the league but it hasn’t seemed to affect his efficiency rating of 30.6 which is only one-tenth less than league leader Lebron James. Harden also leads the league in points, assists, win shares, plus/minus, free throws, three-pointers, and most importantly, value over replacement player. That is quite a remarkable season so far.

The Houston Rockets currently have the best record in the Western Conference and they can thank James Harden for that. The Rockets have beaten both the Warriors and the Cavaliers and have proven themselves as legitimate contenders for an NBA title this season. They’ve been able to do this without Hall-Of-Fame point guard Chris Paul, who missed two weeks due to an injury.

Harden is playing phenomenally on the offensive end this year while being efficient from the field. He’s also made the greatest contribution to his team, winning games more than any other player in the league. If he continues to play at this level, then a third MVP snub would be downright shameful for the league.

The next step for the Rockets is to beat the Warriors in the playoffs, which they haven’t proven they can do. Harden has been mostly ineffective against the Warriors in the playoffs and they haven’t been able to reach the Conference Finals since 2015. That year, the Warriors took care of the Rockets in five games. For the Rockets to have any chance of beating the Warriors in the playoffs, Harden has to play at the MVP level he is currently playing at.