Houston Rockets: Why James Harden should win back-to-back MVPs

Despite drawing the ire of many across social media and sports talk shows all year long, Houston Rockets star James Harden put together an MVP campaign unlike any other.

Although it might currently be difficult for Houston Rockets guard James Harden to bask in his recent accomplishments, the NBA’s reigning Most Valuable Player is fresh off of curating a year that many basketball historians will likely consider as one of the greatest individual seasons ever.

Harden — who generated 30 points or more in 32 consecutive outings this past season — was announced as one of three finalists for the game’s top individual honor for the third consecutive year last month. He is set to discover if he was selected to take home the latest version of the Maurice Podoloff Trophy at the 2019 NBA Awards on Monday night.

Yet in spite of being one of the top candidates for the award, the 29-year-old star is likely to make his way back to H-Town as the official runner-up for the fourth time in the last five seasons.

Without a trophy in hand to commemorate his historic campaign, the final tallies could leave many basketball purists pondering if Harden’s possible MVP snub is more tragic than the fall of Caesar in ancient Rome

Voters should wonder whether or not their decision was truly a mistake in the years to come.

In a season where Paul George and Giannis Antetokounmpo produced off-the-wall numbers en route to guiding their respective teams to the playoffs, no player proved to be as valuable to his franchise as Harden, nor as invaluable to the game, as the Beard’s thrilling season proved to be the most essential boost to the league following the lengthy absence of its most iconic star.

Despite being one of the game’s most polarizing players due to his playing style, Harden capped off his regular season averaging a career-high 36.1 points per game on fewer shots, free throws and minutes per game than the likes of past greats such as Wilt Chamberlain, Elgin Baylor and Michael Jordan. He put together stretches that could easily leave The Greek Freak perplexed himself.

Over the course of his 32-game stretch scoring at least 30 points or more, Harden averaged 41.4 points, 7.5 rebounds and 7.3 assists per game. In conjunction with leading Houston back atop the Western Conference playoff standings with a 21-11 record, the former Sixth Man efficiently torched teams — and took the league by storm — with his signature move in the wake of Clutch City’s slow start.

The step-back.

It’s a venomous counter that is currently ushering a change in the game as we know it, and has become identified with Harden’s prowess — akin to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar‘s classic skyhook and George Gervin‘s finger roll — on the way to painting his magnum opus canvas.

Through 78 games played during the regular season, Harden became the first player ever to score over 2,800 points with 500 assists and 500 rebounds in a single season. He was the first player in NBA history to average at least 35 points and seven assists per game, as the man who dons the No. 13 across his chest for the Rockets did not just eclipse feats. He helped to set a brand new standard.

It was series of trends that will stand the test of time on the hardwood and record books, as Harden served as the official writer of his own narrative in front of our eyes on a night-to-night basis.

He finished among the top three or better in deflections per game, total steals and blocks among players 6’7″ or smaller. He scored 50-plus points in nine games and eclipsed the 60-point plateau twice.

All this came in the midst of being one of the most heavily dissected players in the league, as those across the hoops universe have become so accustomed to Harden’s greatness they often take his performance for granted — and overlook — his growth and improvement in the process.

At a time in which the Rockets sat on the fringe of the postseason and were without several key members of their starting lineup, Harden would demonstrate that he was more than capable of carrying the load by placing the team on his shoulders all season long. Showing that not even a bloodshot eye with blurry vision could deter him from being the NBA’s most dominant offensive force, Harden officially inserted himself at the sphere of the game’s current macrocosm.

While a case can easily be made for Antetokounmpo winning the award in a two-man battle that will presumably go down as one of the best MVP races in recent memory, the same could be said in regards to Harden, who, to quote the legendary hip-hop duo Eric B. & Rakim, proved that he was no joke indeed yet once again.