Can James Harden repeat as Most Valuable Player in 2018-19?

After being arguably snubbed for a couple of years, the Beard finally got his Most Valuable Player award last season for the Houston Rockets.

The Houston Rockets have one of the best players in the league in James Harden. He is coming off of his best season yet in which he finally received the ever-coveted Most Valuable Player award to add to his collection.

He was deserving in two other seasons, 2014-15 and 2016-17, but came up just short to a slightly better story. Those shortcomings didn’t cause him to lose motivation, though, as he came out and led the league in scoring and was the best player on the best team by record in the history of the Houston Rockets.

The big question now is whether or not he will be able to have the same kind of success next season for the team. He will have the exact same role and minutes, but will he be able to average those same types of numbers for another year? I’d say that yes, he most certainly can.

The competition

There will be a hefty amount of competition for the MVP award this year, unlike how it was last season. LeBron James is the Vegas favorite as he is the only star on his new team, the Los Angeles Lakers. He will have the highest Usage %, likely, as he will need to do quite a bit to keep the Lakers in the playoff hunt.

Anthony Davis is another name to look out for, as he will have no DeMarcus Cousins next to him this year. When Cousins went down with injury a season ago, AD stepped up big time and put up MVP-like numbers. Will he be able to do that, and stay healthy, once again?

Other names that are receiving decent odds are the usual suspects: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Kawhi Leonard, etc. James Harden sits tied at the second-best odds behind LeBron as he tries to repeat.

Why James Harden can repeat

The Rockets will likely be in a similar situation as they were last season. They should win around 60 games and be the first or second seed in the tough Western Conference that got even tougher over the summer.

Harden proved that he can co-exist with Chris Paul while still putting up huge MVP-quality numbers. Their chemistry will only increase as they enter their second year together, so look for the Beard to get even better looks this season.

Clint Capela, one of Harden’s favorite assist finishers, will be even better this year as he continues to grow into a fantastic center for the team. He is a huge part of Harden’s success over the past couple of years and they make a great pick-and-roll duo.

James Harden is also gunning for back-to-back MVP awards after being arguably snubbed on two separate occasions. He ended his speech this year after receiving the award by saying that he will see us there next year. We believe it, as a motivated James Harden is a deadly James Harden. The last player to win back-to-back MVPs was Steve Nash, can the Harden be the next?

The Beard is in for another great season, we cannot wait for it to finally begin. Who’s ready for some Rockets basketball?

*Odds via Sportsbook*