Dwyane Wade on NBA MVP race: ‘Right now, I would say James Harden’

With Dwight Howard out, James Harden has been on fire.

The race for NBA MVP is starting heat up with only a handful of players receiving serious consideration for the regular season award. Although there’s different opinions on the subject, the consensus seems to be only four players are in contention with less than a month left in the regular season.

One of those four players in the running for MVP is James Harden of the Houston Rockets. Harden has played extremely well this season and is currently averaging 27.2 points per game which is second in the NBA by fellow MVP candidate Russell Westbrook (27.5 ppg).

Along with a strong case to win the award, Harden is getting support from his peers around the league. The latest player to come out in support of Harden or at least admitting he’s the favorite, is Dwyane Wade of the Miami Heat. Wade said the following about the MVP race, according to Shandel Richardson of the Sun-Sentinel:

“Right now, I would say James Harden,” Wade said before Tuesday’s game against the Milwaukee Bucks. “It’s tough. Any one of those top guys could be MVP. I would say James Harden from everything he’s done for the full season, the entire season. With the injury to Dwight Howard and carrying that team in the tough Western Conference and being right up there. That’s pretty impressive and he’s done it all season long.”

As of right now, Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors is currently the favorite to win the 2015 NBA MVP, according to Sportsbook.ag:

Stephen Curry 5/11
James Harden 2/1
Russell Westbrook 5/2
LeBron James 15/1

With only a few weeks left in the 2014-15 NBA season, the MVP race could look different heading into the playoffs. Harden has a legitimate shot of overtaking Curry, but Westbrook may prove to be a serious threat if the Thunder are able to make the postseason and he continues to put up ridiculous numbers on a nightly basis.

LeBron James may also creep back into the conversation if he has a strong finish to the season for the Cleveland Cavaliers. In all likelihood, LeBron will be rested at times during the final stretch making Harden and Westbrook perhaps the most intriguing players moving forward with both the Rockets and Thunder playing for playoff positioning.