When James Harden went up the stage to receive his award, he didn’t bring out a piece of paper which contained a prepared speech. Rather, he winged it, thanking his family and the whole Houston Rockets organization along the way. After the ceremony, he revealed that he didn’t prepare a speech for a good reason.
As per Tim Bontemps of The Washington Post, Harden said:
“I didn’t see the difference between this year and last year. I thought I should’ve won last year, as well.”
James Harden on why he didn’t prepare a speech for winning: “I didn’t see the difference between this year and last year. I thought I should’ve won last year, as well.”
— Tim Bontemps (@TimBontemps) June 26, 2018
Last year, Harden was also a leading candidate for the MVP Award. He placed second behind former teammate Russell Westbrook. Per NBA.com, Harden had a total of 753 points, compared to Westbrook’s 888.
Several pundits believed that Harden should’ve won the MVP primarily because the Rockets had the better season — they were the only 60-win team last year. Westbrook, despite logging in a triple-double average, wasn’t able to rack win after win for the Oklahoma City Thunder.
This year, Harden won by a convincing margin. He accumulated a total of 965 points. LeBron James came in second with 738, Anthony Davis came in third with 445.
Despite not preparing a speech, Harden shared some wise words before leaving the stage:
“I’m not going to get emotional but she is my backbone, good times, bad times… Sixth Man of the Year [in 2011-12] to the MVP.”
“Shout out to all the [young players]. They got a dream. There is a vision out there. Go chase that dream. … I’ll see y’all next year!”
Congratulations to @JHarden13 of the @houstonrockets on winning the 2018 #KiaMVP! #NBAAwards pic.twitter.com/ZlX4LMP9Zw
— NBA (@NBA) June 26, 2018
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