Curry says Harden deserves MVP

For a variety of reasons, defending two-time MVP Stephen Curry isn't going to win his third such award this season. With that in mind, The Dan Patrick Show pushed Curry for his Maurice Podoloff Trophy pick on Tuesday, and the Golden State Warriors star tabbed James Harden.

"I'd probably say James," Curry told Patrick. "You got to have to reward the better team, I would think, record-wise. That's just kind of going in the history of the MVP award. So, I think James will probably edge (Russell Westbrook) out just off of that."

Related: Harden suggests he deserves MVP over Westbrook

While that might be another reason for Westbrook to loathe the Warriors, Curry has a point. As of Tuesday, Harden's Houston Rockets are 8.5 games above Westbrook's Oklahoma City Thunder, while OKC - currently seeded sixth - is on pace for just 46-47 wins.

With the exception of the lockout-shortened seasons of 1998-99 and 2011-12, no MVP has played on a team that won fewer than 50 games and finished lower than third in its conference since Moses Malone in 1982.

Curry beat out Harden for the 2015 MVP award, garnering 100 first-place votes to 25.