5 most recent instances when a top-5 NBA Draft pick had an MVP season

#3 Kevin Durant - 2013-14 NBA MVP

Kevin Durant #35 with the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2014.

Kevin Durant was the second pick of the 2007 NBA Draft. He was selected by the Seattle SuperSonics and his NBA MVP award came with the Oklahoma City Thunder as the Sonics were relocated after his rookie season.

Durant exploded as one of the best scorers in the NBA in his sophomore season, when he averaged 25 points per game. After taking the OKC Thunder to the 2012 NBA Finals, Durant kept showing greatness and won the NBA MVP award two years later with a tremendous 2013-14 campaign.

Durant averaged a league-leading 32 points per game in the 2013-14 season with 50/39/87 shooting splits. He also averaged 7.4 rebounds and 5.5 assists per game in his MVP season.

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#2 Russell Westbrook - 2016-17 NBA MVP

Russell Westbrook #0 with the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2017.

After Durant left the OKC Thunder to join the 73-9 Golden State Warriors, Russell Westbrook was left as the team's leader for the 2016-17 NBA season. Westbrook had been with the Thunder since being selected fourth in the 2008 NBA Draft.

Westbrook went on to win the MVP award after becoming the first player in league history to average a triple-double in an entire season since the 1961-62 NBA season (when Oscar Robertson the first to do so).

Westbrook put up a league-high 31.6 points, 10.7 rebounds and 10.4 assists per game in a historic NBA campaign. He went on to average a triple-double in three other seasons over the last four campaigns.

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#1 James Harden - 2017-18 NBA MVP

James Harden, winner of the 2017-2018 MVP award.

James Harden was the most recent Top 5 NBA Draft pick to win the regular-season NBA MVP award. Harden was the third pick of the 2009 NBA Draft by the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Harden eventually won the only MVP of his career so far with the Houston Rockets in the 2017-18 campaign and not the team that selected him in the NBA Draft. The Rockets had a historic offense that campaign, led by Harden's 30.4 points per game and 8.8 assists per game.

The nine-time All-Star won the first of his three scoring titles that year and also posted 44/36/85 shooting splits, while leading the Rockets to the best record in the NBA.

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