It has been a busy year for James Harden, but he still seems to be playing as James Harden.
The Brooklyn Nets star scored 44 points, 14 rebounds and 8 assists on Friday against the Detroit Pistons in a 113-111 victory, continuing a strong run for the Nets last month in the absence of Kevin Durant. In addition to Durant, the Nets were also missing Kyrie Irving because of a personal matter.
This led to an interesting question after the game: Does Harden believe he belongs in the MVP debate?
Harden’s response: He thinks he should be the leader in the MVP debate.
Response from Harden:
“Do I feel like I belong to that? I feel like I’m the MVP. It’s that simple. I don’t want to talk, I don’t want to talk about myself individually, I’m just going to get out of it.
“I just try to go there every night and give my teammates everything I can bring to the game. Tonight, the game plan and the Detroit schemes were to take the lob pass and not let our bigs get lobs and ours. This allowed me to reach the basket and shoot lay-ups all night long. The games are different, I just take what the defense gives me. In the next game, we may have more lobs and kicks, so just play it the right way and try to be efficient in doing so. “
Entering Friday, Harden averaged 25.3 points, 11.2 assists and 7.9 rebounds per game. Since Durant’s last game, the 2018 MVP averaged 27.6 points, 11.3 assists and 9.2 rebounds, with the Nets holding a record 14-2 with him on the ground.
It’s an open MVP race this year. Joel Embiid and LeBron James looked like strong candidates, but injuries seem to keep them long enough to get them out of the race. Nikola Jokic and Damian Lillard may represent the new head of the pack, but Harden continues to improve his case while maintaining dominance of the Nets.
Of course, there are arguments against Harden. Even if you ignore what the Rockets have to say about their worth, Harden’s teammates will inevitably be part of the conversation, no matter how the games end up playing. We’ll see if anything changes in the future, but it will certainly be an interesting conversation if Harden’s production continues.
More from Yahoo Sports: