Who Was the 2018 NBA MVP? A Look Back at the Award Winner's Historic Season
I still remember the 2018 NBA season like it was yesterday—the electric atmosphere in arenas, the buzzer-beaters that had us all jumping from our seats, and that burning question everyone kept asking: who would take home the MVP trophy? As someone who's followed basketball religiously since the Jordan era, I've developed a pretty good sense for these things, but even I have to admit that 2018 presented one of the most compelling MVP races in recent memory. The conversation largely centered around two phenomenal players: James Harden and LeBron James, with Anthony Davis making a late surge that had analysts like me reconsidering our predictions.
When the dust settled, it was James Harden who walked away with the Maurice Podoloff Trophy, and honestly, I couldn't argue with the selection. The Houston Rockets guard put together what I consider one of the most dominant offensive seasons I've ever witnessed. Harden averaged 30.4 points, 8.8 assists, and 5.4 rebounds per game while leading the Rockets to a franchise-record 65 wins. What impressed me most wasn't just the statistics—though they were staggering—but how he completely controlled games. His step-back three became the most unstoppable move in basketball, and his ability to draw fouls, while frustrating for opponents, demonstrated his basketball IQ. I've always believed that true MVP seasons redefine how we think about the game, and Harden's 2018 campaign did exactly that by blending traditional scoring with modern analytics in ways we hadn't seen before.
The voting wasn't particularly close either, which surprised some of my colleagues but felt right to me. Harden received 965 total points and 86 first-place votes, while LeBron—who had an incredible season himself—finished second with 738 points and 15 first-place votes. Some argued that LeBron's Cavaliers had a weaker supporting cast, which made his 27.5 points, 9.1 assists, and 8.6 rebounds per game more impressive. I see their point, but MVP has always been about elevating your team to championship contention, and Harden's Rockets simply achieved more during the regular season. Anthony Davis came in third with 445 points after his phenomenal post-All-Star break run, but the award was Harden's to lose from about February onward.
What made Harden's season particularly special was how he adapted his game. I remember watching him early in his career with Oklahoma City, where he was an effective sixth man but nowhere near the offensive force he'd become. By 2018, he had perfected the art of the isolation play, scoring 1.22 points per isolation possession—the highest mark in the league by a significant margin. His usage rate of 36.1% was astronomical, yet he maintained efficiency with a true shooting percentage of 61.9%. These numbers still blow my mind when I look back at them. The Rockets' offensive system was built entirely around his unique skill set, and they nearly dethroned the Warriors because of it.
I can't discuss that season without mentioning the context around Harden's victory. He'd finished second in MVP voting twice before—in 2015 to Stephen Curry and 2017 to Russell Westbrook—so there was a sense that it was his turn. Some critics argue that narrative often influences these awards, and I tend to agree to some extent. However, in this case, the narrative aligned perfectly with the performance. Harden didn't just have great numbers; he had historic numbers while leading his team to the best record in the toughest conference. The Rockets' offense scored 114.7 points per 100 possessions with Harden on the court, which would rank among the greatest offensive teams of all time if maintained over multiple seasons.
Reflecting on that season reminds me of something broader about sports excellence. There's a quote from a different context that nonetheless resonates with me when thinking about MVP seasons: "I think not having to play enough was something that lacked for us. However, even if we don't have big leagues, whenever we train, every day we learn and every day we give our best." While this wasn't said about NBA basketball, it captures the mentality I believe separates good players from MVPs. Harden's 2018 season exemplified this approach—the daily commitment to improvement, the willingness to put in work even when nobody's watching. That's what creates historic seasons, and that's why, years later, we're still looking back at his accomplishment with such admiration.
The legacy of Harden's 2018 MVP continues to influence how we evaluate players today. His combination of volume scoring and playmaking set a new standard for offensive guards, and we've seen players like Luka Dončić and Trae Young adopt similar high-usage, high-efficiency approaches. Personally, I believe Harden's 2018 season ranks among the top 15 individual seasons in NBA history, though I know some traditionalists would disagree with me. What's undeniable is that he captured the spirit of that particular moment in basketball—the analytics revolution meeting individual brilliance. As we look toward future MVP races, the bar Harden set that year remains incredibly high, and I can't wait to see who rises to meet it next.
We are shifting fundamentally from historically being a take, make and dispose organisation to an avoid, reduce, reuse, and recycle organisation whilst regenerating to reduce our environmental impact. We see significant potential in this space for our operations and for our industry, not only to reduce waste and improve resource use efficiency, but to transform our view of the finite resources in our care.
Looking to the Future
By 2022, we will establish a pilot for circularity at our Goonoo feedlot that builds on our current initiatives in water, manure and local sourcing. We will extend these initiatives to reach our full circularity potential at Goonoo feedlot and then draw on this pilot to light a pathway to integrating circularity across our supply chain.
The quality of our product and ongoing health of our business is intrinsically linked to healthy and functioning ecosystems. We recognise our potential to play our part in reversing the decline in biodiversity, building soil health and protecting key ecosystems in our care. This theme extends on the core initiatives and practices already embedded in our business including our sustainable stocking strategy and our long-standing best practice Rangelands Management program, to a more a holistic approach to our landscape.
We are the custodians of a significant natural asset that extends across 6.4 million hectares in some of the most remote parts of Australia. Building a strong foundation of condition assessment will be fundamental to mapping out a successful pathway to improving the health of the landscape and to drive growth in the value of our Natural Capital.
Our Commitment
We will work with Accounting for Nature to develop a scientifically robust and certifiable framework to measure and report on the condition of natural capital, including biodiversity, across AACo’s assets by 2023. We will apply that framework to baseline priority assets by 2024.
Looking to the Future
By 2030 we will improve landscape and soil health by increasing the percentage of our estate achieving greater than 50% persistent groundcover with regional targets of:
– Savannah and Tropics – 90% of land achieving >50% cover
– Sub-tropics – 80% of land achieving >50% perennial cover
– Grasslands – 80% of land achieving >50% cover
– Desert country – 60% of land achieving >50% cover
