Harden: Not knocking Steph, but ‘I deserved the MVP’ previous year

While the team was plagued with injuries throughout much of the year, including a series of injuries to star center Dwight Howard, Harden shouldered the load, leading the Rockets to a 56-26 record.

Writers and experts had discussed and compared the two candidates for months before the voting ended and statistically it was pretty even. Every year the MVP is interpreted in two different ways: the literal description and the “best player on best team” logic. In a recent feature from Fran Blinebury of NBA.com, James Harden respectfully disagreed. “We finished second in the West, which nobody thought we were going to do at the beginning of the year even when everybody was healthy”, he continued. There ” s so many factors.

“I’m just getting to know coach Stevens but he is a very smart coach, teaches the game very well”, Lee said. “That stays with me”. That ” s 100 per cent given all the things that happened last season”.

But, Harden still firmly believes that he deserved the MVP award more than Curry and revealed that he will use his disappointment to motivate himself during the 2015/16 season. Obviously, you’ve got to motivate yourself and I’m sure he’s motivated this year to do a few special things. As the Houston Rockets star prepares for another season, the bitterness of losing an award he thought he earned is still weighing heavy on his mind. Like I said, I’m not taking anything away from Steph, but I felt I deserved the Most Valuable Player.

Forward David Lee has played only one game since joining the Boston Celtics and is already seeing a few positive similarities with his former team, the defending champion Golden State Warriors.

Harden’s claim to the title of self-proclaimed NBA’s best player may be tightly contested (the league has a wealth of talent right now) but it’s not insane to suggest that he should be in the conversation. “Just wait. I’ll show you”, he said.

Harden’s aggressiveness and ability to create off the dribble is part of what makes him an elite scorer. “We’ve got a lot of work to do”.

The process of blending Lawson’s strengths with Harden’s really has not begun, though a three-game preseason road trip that ends against Golden State would seem to offer a chance to move in that direction.

In a report by NBC Sports, Curry responded to Harden’s statement through Monte Poole of CSN Bay Area saying, “It doesn’t change what happened previous year”.