Much of the NBA MVP talk has centered around one 55-year-old record — Oscar Robertson’s triple-double record from 1962, which Russell Westbrook finally broke on Sunday with his 42nd one. But there’s also a long-standing record that the other leading MVP candidate, James Harden, is poised to break.
James Harden could break the NBA record for most points scored and created
Westbrook isn’t the only MVP on the verge of making history.
Sergio Estrada-USA TODAY Sports
Forty-four years ago in the 1972-73 season, Tiny Archibald scored 34.0 points per game while averaging 11.4 assists. Robertson himself averaged 30-plus points and 11-plus assists three times, but no one has come close to Archibald’s numbers before this season.
There was no three-point line back then, so Archibald scored or assisted on 56.8 points per game that season. This season, with 29.3 points and 27.3 points off assists, Harden is creating 56.6 points per game, just shy of the record. With two games remaining for the Rockets against the Clippers and the Timberwolves, Harden has a chance to leap ahead.
Harden has one advantage in the three-point line.
Harden is averaging about five points fewer and his assists are nearly the same, but because the Rockets have obliterated every team-held three-point record this season, he’s still only fractions of a percentage point behind Archibald.
Houston has built a perfect team for Harden with several prolific three-point shooters and big men built for running at the rim. Between the two, Harden can throw lob passes and quickly as he fires a ball out to the perimeter for a 25-foot shot. Sometimes, you’ll see a Rocket spotting up even further away from the three-point line. Yes, of course that’s on purpose.
The Rockets have one of the top-10 offenses in league history, and Harden is instrumental for making the team run so efficiently. While Westbrook’s triple-doubles may take a forefront because they’re so easy to visualize — 10, 10, 10 — there are plenty of records that Harden holds or could break, too. The Rockets even put up a page on their team site stumping for Harden’s MVP candidacy, using a couple of the stats we just talked about.
Harden also has become the first player to score 2,000 and assist on 2,000 points, even if he doesn’t pass Archibald in his final two games.
This is an all-time MVP race, and no historic record is safe.
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