The Brooklyn Net’s have been one of the best teams in the NBA this season and James Harden has been one of the biggest reasons why. Since joining the Nets they have had a 24-5 record when he plays beating some of the toughest competition in the league. That stat gets to be even more impressive since he has done that without Kevin Durant who has been sidelined with injury since mid-February and Kyrie Irving who comes and goes out of the lineup as he pleases.
Harden has been the king of consistency for the Brooklyn Net’s and while the team on paper is stacked he is the engine that has been running this team. Harden let us know recently that he believes that he is the MVP and honestly he is right. Currently, there isn’t another player right now that can hold a candle to what James Harden is doing with the Brooklyn Nets. Harden has been robbed of MVP awards in the past and in this year so far if the award goes to anyone it would be another robbery.
James Harden’s Case for his 2nd MVP
Since joining the Nets, James Harden has gotten busy breaking record’s in his debut game. So Far James Harden is doing everything for the team. His averages with the Brooklyn Nets are 26 points per game, 11.4 assists per game which is leading the league, and 8.9 rebounds per game. When Harden left Houston he told the Nets General Manager Sean Marks: “I want to win. I’m all about winning” & his play has backed up that statement. These gaudy numbers are second nature to James Harden night after night he is leading the Brooklyn Nets to victory.
Over the last 15 games that James Harden has played the Brooklyn Nets are 13-2. No other team has come to match that stretch of consistent winning this season besides the Utah Jazz which features a much more team-ball-oriented style of play. When the Net’s win it is because of Harden, whether he is leading them to comeback wins versus contending teams or doing it all himself when Kyrie and KD are absent.
The reason that everyone believes that the Brooklyn Nets are the best team in the league is that even with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving in and out of the lineup they are still winning games against tough competition. They have James Harden to thank for that and his latest game against the Pistons is showing that there are no signs of slowing down this MVP campaign.
No One Else has a Better Case Than Harden For MVP
There are a couple of key factors that go into winning an MVP award in the NBA. A Player needs to have dominant performances on the court, they need to play in a majority of their team’s games, and the team has to be winning games on a high level. No other player at this point into the season check those three boxes besides James Harden. There is a saying that availability is the best ability and in the MVP cases for LeBron James and Joel Embiid two players that are often on top of the MVP tracker. They will be missing an extended amount of time due to injury putting a real dent in their odds.
In the cases for other notable players that may be receiving MVP buzz like Luka Doncic, Nikola Jokic, and Damian Lillard they are all playing for teams that are below the fourth seed in their respective conferences. Winning games is a big factor in the MVP award and for those players, they haven’t won enough for serious consideration at this point. In the case of one last player that may receive MVP consideration. Which is Giannis Antetokounmpo voter fatigue will surely get in the way of him winning a third straight MVP award something that hasn’t been done since 1986.
It’s clear that James Harden so far into the NBA season is the clear-cut MVP and if he keeps up this level of play he will only continue to separate himself from the rest of the pack.
