Now that the NBA’s 2017- 2018 regular season is now in the books, there were a handful of players that stood out and could rightly be the new MVP.

This distinguished award is given to a player whose statistical and physical presence made the biggest impact on the court. This is a pretty tight race because there are several players that are deserving of it.

For one, the last MVP recipient, Russell Westbrook, won the award based on his record-setting year in the 2016- 2017 season. He set the record for most triple doubles in a season with 42. A triple double is when a player has a record double-digit total in three out of five statistical categories (assists, blocks, points, rebounds, and steals) over the course of a single game.

There are 82 games in a regular season, so the fact that he managed to do it in half the games is an amazing accomplishment. He could get MVP again because he managed to average triple doubles for second straight year. That has never be done before. Even though he didn’t have the same number of triple double games this season, statically, he managed to average a triple double for the second straight season. In 80 games he played this past year, he scored an average of 25.4 points a game, achieved 10.1 rebounds per game, and 10.3 assists per game.

Another possible winner could be the four-time MVP winner and three-time world champion, LeBron James. James had one of his best years in 3-point shooting and assists. His 3-point shooting percentage was at 0.367 percent. It hadn’t been that high since his days playing for the Miami Heat, where he won two championships.

James had a career-setting year in assists, averaging 9.1 per a game. This increase is due to the fact that he is great at getting to the basket, which makes the defense so worried that they leave the perimeter wide open for 3-point shots from James’s teammates. James picked up his game big time with the absence of Kyrie Irving who was traded last summer. He practically carried his team to a 50-win season and into the play-offs.

Another possible MVP is Kevin Durant who kept the Warriors together while the face of the franchise, Stephen Curry, has been in and out this season with injuries. He was able to keep the offense going by having one of his best 3-point shooting percentages at 0.419. Whenever they’re in a slump offensively, he would be unstoppable in isolation shots. He helped Golden State to the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference and put them in a commanding position to complete a back-to-back championship win.

However, I think it is going to end up being James Harden who has a career year in average points-per-game with 30.4. He also averages 0.8 assists, 5.4 rebounds, and 1.8 steals per game. He managed to fight through injury to stay on the court to help the Houston Rockets set a new win record of 65 games and the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference.

Kobe Bryant, a five-time champion, a future hall of famer and a former MVP himself, shared his perspective on possible MVP winners during an appearance on ESPN’s new morning show, Get Up, Tuesday, written in an article by Complex called “Here’s Who Kobe Bryant Thinks Should Win the NBA MVP”.

“But I think what James has done from Game One all the way through Game 82, he deserves to be rewarded,” said Bryant. “This guy has worked his butt off for the entire season and has gotten his team to the place where they are now, I just don’t know what there is left for him to do.”

After all, James Harden is the league’s leading scorer, so indeed it is his time to be recognized for this prestigious award. He should get this as recognition for his and the Houston Rockets’ current magical run.