James Harden has scored at least 35 points in six straight games, tying Carmelo Anthony (2012-13) for the third longest such streak in the past 20 seasons. Kobe Bryant scored at least 35 points in 13 straight games (2002-03) and LeBron James accomplished the feat in nine straight games (2005-06). Harden's scoring exploits have, according to some accounts, vaulted him back into MVP contention.
It seems like winning a second consecutive MVP is a major motivation for Harden. Harden said, "I mean, yeah. Of course I should be in the conversation. I mean, I receive a lot of hate, but it won't stop me from killing every single night, being that dog that I am. You can name a few other people that should be in the conversation. But realistically? It's coming back."
Harden's Houston Rockets won a league-best 65 regular season games in 2017-18 but began this season in embarrassing fashion, at one point ranking as low as 14th in the 15 team Western Conference. It is no secret that Harden began the season in less than stellar shape. One would think that the eighth highest paid player in the NBA this season ($30,570,000) should begin the season in top condition and that he would be criticized for not doing so. Instead, Harden is being praised for his recent commitment to training, which apparently did not begin until Harden got motivated by "hate" and by not being mentioned as an MVP candidate.
How does Harden's scoring streak compare to Bryant's 2003 streak?
During Bryant's 13 game streak in 2002-03, he averaged 42.4 ppg, with two 50-point games and a streak of nine straight games during which he scored at least 40 points. That 40-point scoring streak tied Michael Jordan for the fourth longest ever (not just the past 20 years), surpassed only by three Wilt Chamberlain streaks of 14, 14 and 10 games. Bryant put together seven 40-point scoring streaks of at least three games (the January 2012 streak referenced in that article lasted one more game to reach four before being snapped) and his teams went 25-9 (a .735 winning percentage equivalent to a full season record of 60-22) during the games in those various streaks.
Bryant's L.A. Lakers went 11-2 during his 2013 streak. They had a scoring differential of +90. Bryant's plus/minus total during those games was +127, meaning that the Lakers were outscored by 37 points when he was on the bench. Essentially, the Lakers played like one of the most dominant teams of all-time while he was on the court during that stretch, and they played like a Lottery team when he was not on the court. Bryant shot .487 from the field in those 13 games, including .455 from three point range.
During Harden's ongoing six game streak, he has averaged 40.3 ppg. The Rockets have gone 5-1 in those games, with a scoring differential of +46. Harden's plus/minus total during those games is +38, which means that the Rockets have outscored their opponents even when Harden has been on the bench. Harden has shot just .413 from the field overall, including .411 from three point range. Harden is averaging 15 three point field goal attempts per game during his streak, while Bryant attempted five three point field goals per game during his streak.
So, at this point Harden's streak is not even half as long as Bryant's, Harden is scoring slightly less with a much worse shooting percentage and Harden's team success is much less directly linked to his on court time than Bryant's team success was linked to his on court time.
Bryant often received criticism for shooting too much but that complaint is rarely if ever uttered about Harden, who shoots a lower percentage than Bryant and whose performance is less directly connected to his team's performance.
All that being said, it would not be shocking to see Harden join the two MVP club, even though Bryant finished third in the 2013 balloting and only won one regular season MVP (2008) despite being the best all-around player in the league for several years.
NBA regular season MVP voting started to go off the rails in the 1990s, when the media voters decided that it was boring to keep giving the award to Michael Jordan and thus they started to find reasons/excuses to give MVPs to other players based on the premise that while Jordan may be the league's best player he was not the best performer in a given season. Thus, Charles Barkley (1993) and Karl Malone (1997) won MVPs when Jordan was near the height of his powers as an individual performer and at his peak as the driving force (along with Scottie Pippen) of one of the greatest dynasties in NBA history.
At least Jordan won five regular season MVPs, tied with Bill Russell for second on the all-time list behind Kareem Abdul Jabbar's six. Shaquille O'Neal was the most dominant force in the league for years, yet he only received one regular season MVP (2000). Allen Iverson and Steve Nash each received MVPs that should have gone to O'Neal (2001 for Iverson, 2005 for Nash; Nash's 2006 MVP should have gone to Bryant). While Tim Duncan was a worthy MVP winner in 2001 and 2002, it could be argued that O'Neal should have won one or both of those MVPs as well.
James Harden is a very talented offensive player but awarding him one MVP--let alone two (if he wins this year)--while LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry, Russell Westbrook and Anthony Davis are better all-around players defies logic.
Making this argument seems to be a losing battle, because the pro-Harden narrative is so deeply entrenched that it probably will not be seriously reexamined during this era. Nevertheless, it is still important to point out the flaws in that narrative.
If Harden does win his second MVP, it will be interesting to see how long it takes him to get into shape next season. Will he wait until January? Or will two MVPs satisfy his personal goals, so that he can just collect his guaranteed money for the duration of his contract without bothering to get into peak condition at all?
James Harden's Scoring Streak and His Motivation
