Naero
11-15-2019, 10:34 PM
Whether you love Harden or hate him (as most non-Rockets fans do), he's deservedly been a fixture in the MVP discussion for the latter half of the decade.
It's his three runner-up candidacies—2015, 2017, and 2019—I'm interested in mooting, as those might have tipped the scales of his legacy more than his only MVP so far.
Many (including the not-so-diffident Harden himself) feel that media snubs—be it due to voter fatigue, his contemptible playstyle, or his underwhelming postseason track record—are the biggest reason he hasn't already joined the pantheon of multi-time MVPs. It's not really a travesty that others—Curry, Westbrook, and Giannis—outvoted him those years considering their respectively phenomenal seasons; but the 2018 MVP-winner had a cogent case for those years, too, and many of his fans will ruminate over those the most unless (if not until) he augments that collection.
What year, if any, do you feel he deserved the award the most? Even if you don't think he was blatantly snubbed, vote for whichever season you think he had the best case.
It's his three runner-up candidacies—2015, 2017, and 2019—I'm interested in mooting, as those might have tipped the scales of his legacy more than his only MVP so far.
Many (including the not-so-diffident Harden himself) feel that media snubs—be it due to voter fatigue, his contemptible playstyle, or his underwhelming postseason track record—are the biggest reason he hasn't already joined the pantheon of multi-time MVPs. It's not really a travesty that others—Curry, Westbrook, and Giannis—outvoted him those years considering their respectively phenomenal seasons; but the 2018 MVP-winner had a cogent case for those years, too, and many of his fans will ruminate over those the most unless (if not until) he augments that collection.
What year, if any, do you feel he deserved the award the most? Even if you don't think he was blatantly snubbed, vote for whichever season you think he had the best case.