NBA Awards: LeBron James, Anthony Davis, James Harden Among Finalists

LeBron James, James Harden and Anthony Davis are on the shortlist for winning the MVP award as the NBA announced Wednesday the finalists for a number of awards to be handed out following the end of the postseason.

The awards will be voted by a panel of sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the United States and Canada, while fans will get to vote for several awards as well.

The standout award is, of course, the MVP honor and the trio of James, Harden and Davis has separated themselves from the rest of the pack with their performances in the regular season.

Harden is the frontrunner for the award as he has been the Houston Rockets' best player as they finished not only as the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference over the Golden State Warriors but as the best team in the regular season overall with an impressive 65-17 record.

The 28-year-old majorly contributed to the Houston side's dominance this year with an average of 30.4 points, 5.4 rebounds and 8.8 assists per game as he looks to win the award for the first time in his career.

However, James is also a likely candidate as despite the Cleveland Cavaliers finishing the regular season as the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference, the Akron native enjoyed one of his finest individual seasons.

With 27.5 points, 8.6 rebounds and 9.1 assists per game, James' numbers are especially impressive when one considers the circumstances the 2016 NBA champions have gone through this year with the trade of Kyrie Irving, injuries, a general manager change and the absence of head coach Tyronn Lue due to illness.

"I would vote for me," James said in March. "The body of work, how I’m doing it, what’s been happening with our team all year long, how we’ve got so many injuries and things of that nature, guys in and out, to be able to still keep this thing afloat, I definitely would vote me."

Lastly, New Orleans Pelicans forward Anthony Davis led his side to sixth in the Western Conference and finished the regular season with 28.1 points, 11.1 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game despite the absence of DeMarcus Cousins due to injury for the second half of the campaign.

Meanwhile, the Philadelphia 76ers' Ben Simmons and Utah Jazz's Donovan Mitchell are finalists for the NBA Rookie of the Year award.

The two have formed a competitive rivalry in recent months as there will be particular intrigue with who wins the award this year, with Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum rounding out the three.

Simmons and Mitchell's respective teammates Joel Embiid and Rudy Gobert are also nominated for Defensive Player of the Year along with Davis.

The rest of the finalists for the other awards can be seen below:

Coach of the Year: Dwane Casey (Toronto Raptors), Quin Snyder (Jazz), Brad Stevens (Celtics)

Most Improved Player: Clint Capela (Rockets), Spencer Dinwiddie (Brooklyn Nets), Victor Oladipo (Indiana Pacers)

Sixth Man of the Year: Eric Gordon (Rockets), Lou Williams (LA Clippers), Fred VanVleet (Raptors)

The results will be announced June 25 during a televised show in Los Angeles.