James Harden torched NBA defenses on a nightly basis during one of the greatest offensive years in the modern era, and led the league in scoring by a huge margin as he attempted to win a second consecutive NBA MVP award last season. Harden ultimately finished second in MVP voting behind Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo, who was similarly dominant on the best regular-season team in the league, and the Rockets star believes that a “narrative” surrounding his candidacy impacted the results.
During a radio interview with 97.9 The Box, Harden was asked whether he was upset over missing out on a second MVP award. Harden said he wasn’t, but pointed to a pre-determined “narrative” that affected the race.
“It’s out of my control. I think once people, once the media, they create a narrative about somebody from the beginning of the year, I think they just take that narrative and just run with it the entire year. I don’t want to get into details. All I can do is control what I can do, and I went out there and did what I was supposed to do at a high level. There’s only a few other seasons that anybody has ever done that before.”
There’s no doubting that narratives play a role in MVP voting. Derrick Rose’s MVP case in 2011 received a boost from LeBron James’ “Decision” and general LeBron fatigue, for example. In 2019, however, Harden was far from a clear-cut choice.
Antetokounmpo, who could finish his career with a collection of MVP awards, put up ridiculous career-high averages (27.7 points, 12.5 rebounds, 5.9 assists), was a defensive player of the year finalist, and led the Bucks to a league-best 60 wins. Harden still earned 29 first-place MVP votes from media members, but the award has always favored elite players on the best teams in basketball, and Antetokounmpo was deservedly rewarded.
