James Harden still can’t get over the MVP he lost to Giannis Antetokounmpo this season. Granted, the media keeps asking him about it, but at the same time, holy moly, does this narrative not make sense.
By now, we’ve all heard Hardens’ comments about the MVP during his recent interview with GQ. If you haven’t, then here it is:
“Wait until the preseason and when the regular season starts up again. But [the media] for sure got some teams they locked in on. We all know. That’s just what it is. You can’t tell me that a guy whose team was a 14-seed at one point last year, and ended up a four-seed with everything that was going on, so many injuries, and who went on a 32-game 30-point streak, eight 50-point games, two 60-point games in one season…and all the talk was about [Giannis Antetokounmpo]? There’s no way.”
Essentially, Harden’s argument breaks down to two points: His video game statistics and impressive carry job of the Rockets. These, to be fair, are two valid points. The problem is, well, if this is truly what Harden values….then according to himself, he shouldn’t have been the 2018 MVP.
To start, there’s just a blatant lie in this argument. Harden insinuates that the media had already decided on Giannis Antetokounmpo as the MVP before the season started. That’s simply not true. Antetokounmpo just came off a season where his seventh-seeded Bucks were a first-round exit. He was nowhere close to the MVP favorite, as most people were keyed in on LeBron James or Anthony Davis. In fact, Harden himself had just come off a postseason run where his Rockets nearly toppled the Golden State Warriors in a thrilling seven-game series. If anything, there was more excitement for Harden and his Rockets than Antetokounmpo and the Bucks.
Harden is also doing that Floyd Mayweather thing where he acts like the media is disrespecting him 24/7. Yeah, sure, some people were chalking up his 30-point games to “anybody can do that with that high of a usage.” But, facts are, most people were going “holy sh**, it’s the second coming of Kobe freaking Bryant.”
Next, the meat of Harden’s argument relies on the ridiculous numbers he averaged throughout the year. And, yeah, they were amazing. But, by that logic, Harden should’ve lost the 2018 MVP to LeBron James and didn’t deserve the 2017 MVP over Russell Westbrook either.
In 2018, James played all 82 games and averaged 27.5 PPG, 8.6 REB, and 9.1 AST on 54.2 FG% and 36.7 3PT%. Kevin Love didn’t even play 60 games and was inconsistent through the year due to his injuries. James was able to drag his depleted roster to the fourth seed while averaging ridiculous numbers on incomprehensible efficiency. On the other hand, Harden averaged 30.4 PPG, 5.4 REB, and 8.8 AST on 44.9 FG% and 36.7 3PT% while only playing 72 games. His Rockets went 65-17, good for first in the entire NBA. Harden won the MVP because his team was winning while he was putting up eye-popping stats.
Now, in 2019, Harden averaged 36.1 PPG, 6.6 REB, and 7.5 AST while leading the Rockets to 53 wins. We can also add in the historic 30-point streak, which was mind-boggling to every sane person in the world – scratch that, in the entire universe. That’s how impressive that streak was. It takes an inhuman amount of stamina and mental fortitude to play at that level for 32 games. Harden had a strong MVP argument, but first, let’s remember the incredible season Antetokounmpo had.
Antetokounmpo averaged 27.7 PPG, 12.5 REB, 5.9 AST, and 1.5 BLK on 57.8 FG%. The Milwaukee Bucks won 60 games, the most out of any team in the NBA. Sound like a familiar scenario? The point is, although Harden didn’t put up stats as great as James did in 2018, the numbers were still on the same level. And, although Harden had a legendary stat-line this season, Antetokounmpo wasn’t far behind. In both cases, the MVP went to the player whose team won more games.
Whether or not this is the criteria the MVP should be based off is a different question. Harden can’t present his angle from once case one year, then switch it up the next and expect us to eat it up.
Therefore, for anybody to claim Harden should’ve been the MVP both this year AND last year is ridiculous. It’s one or the other. You just can’t change the reasoning to fit your agenda.
The best part of this debate is that, by Harden’s own logic, he admits that Russell Westbrook is the rightful 2017 MVP. Westbrook averaged a triple-double for the entire season, the first time anybody had done so in 50 years. The Oklahoma City Thunder won 47 games behind his monstrous effort and were flat out terrible without him. Meanwhile, Harden averaged 29.1 PPG, 8.1 REB, and 11.2 AST, while leading the Rockets to 55 wins. The argument, once again, was statistics versus winning. This time, statistics won out.
Is it true that it’s weird as hell that our criteria for the MVP changes every year? Of course! But, that’s the wonderful part of the award. It’s an in the moment type of deal. Five years later, we might find out Antetokounmpo was doing steroids the whole time. But, it doesn’t matter because he was still the MVP of that season, capeesh?
Now, it’s understandable for Harden to complain about being slighted. This is his legacy we’re talking about after all. However, there’s just no logical scenario where Harden should’ve won both the 2018 and 2019 MVP – and especially not the 2017 MVP. Once again, it’s completely okay for Harden to be mad. That’s what athletes do. They have to find something to motivate themselves. Michael Jordan once made up a story about a guy disrespecting him just so he could find a way to keep himself engaged. Just know that it’s total bullsh*t, and he’s quite the hypocrite for it.
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