Stephen Curry to be named MVP, James Harden finishes second

Stephen Curry will be named the MVP at some point this week, as first reported by CSN Bay Area's Monte Poole. Poole reported James Harden, who led the NBA in win shares, free throws, minutes and points, finished second.

It's really no surprise for anyone who pays attention to the NBA. Curry has been the media darling for months, leading the best regular season team in seven years in scoring, assists, steals and highlight plays. He also played 370 fewer minutes than James Harden and his team won 67 games. Curry is a worthy MVP, and this won't be considered a Steve Nash-like win where other candidates were statistically more qualified.

But James Harden was electric this season, and continues to amaze in the second round of the playoffs. He and the Rockets only need to get through the Los Angeles Clippers to set up a showdown, à la Olajuwon vs. Robinson in 1995, between the league's two best players in 2014-2015.

We, as a Rockets fan site, are expected to lay into the voters and say James Harden deserved to win. I certainly feel that the Beard should be the one receiving a piece of hardware for the season he's had -- you'll see more on that topic soon, don't worry -- but it would be a fool's errand to debate that Curry didn't have an MVP-worthy season.

Harden is 25, one year younger than Stephen Curry. I have a feeling this won't be his last time in the discussion for the MVP award. Let's hope we can keep having these arguments for the better part of a decade.