A scoring title with nearly 36 ppg in any other setting would instantly mean that you were the MVP.

But that's not the case. Harden didn't end the regular season with the best record, in fact he was putting up his shots to make sure that his team had points on the board. That's why Giannis won the MVP last year. The Greek Freak put up really good numbers AND had an amazing regular season record. It's simple, Giannis won more, it doesn't matter how.

With pretty much similar level of help but different styles of play the two were pitted against each other.

However: If James Harden manages to do even better in the West this year than the last he may beat out Giannis.

Because of the same logic, if James Harden's play wins more games he is the MVP.

The difficulty this season comes to how we compare the East and the West. The East literally has nobody. A 76ers team that still doesn't know what it is and a killer Pascal is all that stands in Giannis' way. And regardless of how good Siakam is, the Greek Freak is...a FREAK. As he improves his play-making this season and his 3 point shooting he will undoubtedly be the MVP of the East. But James Harden has a lot more obstacles. Literally twice as many all star level players make up the West than the East. In my eyes if Harden is a top 3 team in the West you can sign away the MVP, barring Westbrook actually hits his shots or Harden's points drop. The lack of efficient help makes him poised to win.

But all everyone wants to say is: "What about Luka and Lebron."

I love Luka, I really do. But unless he makes the Mavs a TOP 4 team in the West he's gonna have to wait another year for an MVP trophy. And as for Lebron, he can make a real case if Lakers become the number 1 seed in the West. Unfortunately just having AD on his team makes it difficult for me to justify an MVP trophy when Giannis and Harden are playing like divine entities to make sure their team wins while LBJ just has to throw a lob.