Brooks: Harden is MVP, but easy to argue it should be LeBron every year

Considering the success of the Houston Rockets and his second-place finish in Most Valuable Player voting a year ago, it seems safe to assume James Harden will walk away with MVP honors for 2017-18.

Washington Wizards head coach Scott Brooks admits he'd vote for his former shooting guard, but believes a case can be made for giving the hardware to the consensus greatest player on the planet.

"He's definitely an MVP this year," Brooks said of Harden prior to the Wizards' game against Houston on Tuesday, according to ESPN's Tim MacMahon. "He's played well on the team that's playing the best in basketball, but you can always argue LeBron (James) can get it every year. Like Michael Jordan should have had 12 of them. LeBron's the same type of player. He's having probably a better year than he had before, however many years he had.

"But James is deserving. He put in a lot of work. He's gotten better every year. Sometimes, it's hard to do that when you're at a high level. He's been at an MVP level for the last three years or so. Every year, he's come back and played better. Like all MVPs, it's about impact and winning."

The Rockets are in the midst of their best regular season in franchise history with a 62-15 record heading into Tuesday's game. Harden is averaging a league-best 30.6 points while ranking third in assists with 8.8 per game.

James' Cavaliers, meanwhile, have 15 fewer victories than the Rockets in the weaker Eastern Conference, which hurts his MVP bid. Nonetheless, his numbers in his 15th year in the Association are staggering; he's averaging 27.4 points, 8.7 boards, and 9.1 dimes and has suited up for all 77 of his team's outings.