When James Harden arrived in Brooklyn, he took the league by storm. He came into the season with questions pertaining to his conditioning. It seemed like he was not the same old Harden to start the season, but his game quickly proved otherwise. In only eight games with Houston, he put up 24.8 PPG with 10.9 APG in 36.3 MPG. This was all Nets GM Sean Marks needed to see before cooking up a trade for the Beard.
With Brooklyn, his new teammates and following a new system didn’t matter. Harden made an immediate impact, averaging 24.6 PPG while dishing out a league best 10.9 APG. Before going down with a hamstring injury, the Nets guard was well out front competing in the MVP race.
It’s inevitable that a healthier and more comfortable 32-year-old Harden will make a push for MVP again next season. In fact, he might have to go through his fellow teammates Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving for it. Both Durant and Kyrie Irving finished in the top-15 for the honor last season.
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As the veteran’s trainer Justin Allen puts it according to PlayNY, “James Harden will be in the conversation until it’s time for him to hang up his shoes.” Of course, the past five years have shown that, with the Beard finishing in the top-20 for the award while winning it in 2018.
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