32 team executives voted for MVP: Harden first

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Last Sunday and this Monday, local time, the renowned media outlet USA Today invited 32 team executives from the league to vote for the MVP of this season’s regular season. Among the four candidates – Russell Westbrook, James Harden, Kawhi Leonard, and LeBron James – the Rockets’ guard Harden came in first place. USA Today invited 32 NBA team executives in total; to ensure objectivity, executives from the Thunder, Rockets, Spurs, and Cavaliers were excluded. Furthermore, the Lakers’ new general manager, Rob Pelinka, also did not vote, as he was Harden’s agent just a few weeks ago. Of these 32 team executives, 20 are general managers or other heads of the uniform department (their vote counts are noted in parentheses). The final voting results were as follows: 1. Harden: 12 votes (7 from general managers or other team executives); 2. Westbrook: 8 votes (6); 3. Leonard: 7 votes (6); 4. James: 5 votes (1). So far this season, Harden has played 67 games for the Rockets (46 wins, 21 losses), averaging 36.5 minutes per game and scoring 29.1 points, 7.9 rebounds, and 11.2 assists ； Westbrook has appeared in 66 games for the Thunder (37 wins, 29 losses), averaging 34.9 minutes per game and scoring 31.9 points, grabbing 10.5 rebounds, and providing 10.1 assists ； Leonard has appeared in 58 games for the Spurs (51 wins, 14 losses), averaging 33.6 minutes per game and scoring 26.2 points, grabbing 5.9 rebounds, and providing 3.4 assists ； James has appeared in 60 games for the Cavaliers (43 wins, 22 losses), averaging 37.7 minutes per game and scoring 26.1 points, grabbing 8.3 rebounds, and providing 8.9 assists.