James Harden has been brilliant this season, leading the Houston Rockets to the NBA’s best record and ascending to new heights as the presumptive favorite to claim the league’s MVP award.
While there are still some detractors to his candidacy, a respected source of basketball knowledge came to the forefront in support on Tuesday, as 2007-2008 NBA MVP and 18-time All-Star Kobe Bryant anointed Harden as his choice. Bryant visited with ESPN’s Get Up! on Tuesday and made the case for why Harden was deserving of the award this season, even in the face of some strong competition from others.
According to @kobebryant, James Harden has had an MVP-worthy season. pic.twitter.com/Gy0gob3Fp4
— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) April 17, 2018
“I think James has done so much all season long,” Bryant said. “For the last two years, he’s been playing phenomenally well and, if it had not been for Westbrook’s historic run last year, he certainly would’ve won it… I think what James has done from Game 1 all the way through Game 82 deserves to be rewarded. This guy’s worked his butt off for the entire season and has gotten his team to the place where they are now. I just don’t know what there’s left for him to do.”
Harden led the league in scoring at 30.4 points per game and he did so on devastating efficiency, also setting the pace league-wide in PER (29.8) with a 61.9 true shooting percentage that was off-the-charts for a player with his skill set and usage. It is certainly fair to point out that Houston added Chris Paul in support of Harden’s greatness but, in the same breath, he was arguably better from start to finish this season, while other contenders (including the aforementioned Westbrook) took a step back.
It is possible that LeBron James (or another All-Star) will garner votes for the league’s 2017-2018 NBA MVP award but, at this point, it would be a surprise if Harden didn’t emerge victorious. Whether that translates to playoff success is another story entirely but, in terms of the regular season, Bryant speaks for many in praising Harden for his quality work.
