James Harden: Media Narrative Impacted His MVP Chances

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James Harden: Media Narrative Impacted His MVP Chances 

Post#1 » by RealGM Wiretap » Thu Aug 22, 2019 6:39 am

James Harden said that the MVP narratives were against him last season despite his record scoring numbers in an interview with 97.9 The Box


“Once the media, they create a narrative about somebody from the beginning of the year, I think they just take that narrative and just run with it the entire year. I don’t want to get into details. All I can do is control what I can do, and I went out there and did what I was supposed to do at a high level," said Harden.  


Harden, who finished second to Giannis Antetokounmpo in MVP voting, went on a run of 32 consecutive games scoring at least30 points. 


Harden instead turned the focus to winning an NBA title next season.


“People were tuned in to how many points I was going to score the next game. It was a thing. But I can’t control that. The only thing I can control is coming back next year and being better than I was, and winning a ‘chip.”

Via NBA.com

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Re: James Harden: Media Narrative Impacted His MVP Chances 

Post#2 » by Vegeta10176 » Thu Aug 22, 2019 7:25 am

You have to at least get to the finals Harden come on.. You want to whinge that Giannis got MVP over you but if I was a fan id hope you focus more on the fact that when KD went down you did nothing and that you having such a high usage rates is not a winning strategy in finals..
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Re: James Harden: Media Narrative Impacted His MVP Chances 

Post#3 » by Adam Stern » Thu Aug 22, 2019 10:14 am

He's not wrong.
For better or worse media narrative plays a HUGE role in MVP voting.
It's conspicuously self-serving since it's also the media that votes on the award.
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Re: James Harden: Media Narrative Impacted His MVP Chances 

Post#4 » by The Real Dalic » Thu Aug 22, 2019 11:34 am

Is he going to complain every year he doesn't win the MVP?
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Re: James Harden: Media Narrative Impacted His MVP Chances 

Post#5 » by The_Hater » Thu Aug 22, 2019 12:31 pm

Adam Stern wrote:He's not wrong.
For better or worse media narrative plays a HUGE role in MVP voting.
It's conspicuously self-serving since it's also the media that votes on the award.


He’s not wrong, but he wasn’t robbed either. Giannis had an incredible season leading the Bucks to the top offense, the top defense and the top record. I believe Harden should have won it over Westbrook in 2017 however.

Regardless, players should always keep thoughts like this to themselves. It doesn’t help them.
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Re: James Harden: Media Narrative Impacted His MVP Chances 

Post#6 » by Liberal » Thu Aug 22, 2019 12:32 pm

Job of media is to write stories that capture the attention of people so their company can get paid and stay relevant. To subdue/mitigate/minimize media's effect on a players reputation they must write their own narrative using their own media outlets (aka social media) - through posts, videos and the like. If you think media gives a flying "you know what" about the truth, the athletes they cover, or the fans they peddle their media to, you will one day get a rude awakening, cause they don't. They'd sell their own family if it brought them the publicity they desired. And as a direct response to James Harden, he is correct, the media did play a big role in him not getting the mvp but they also played a big role when he did win the mvp, truth is they always play a big role in awards and public opinion of players. Afterall they write the narrative.

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Re: James Harden: Media Narrative Impacted His MVP Chances 

Post#7 » by FreeBoosie » Thu Aug 22, 2019 1:01 pm

Just let it go Houston. Quit the wining over everything already smh lol
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Re: James Harden: Media Narrative Impacted His MVP Chances 

Post#8 » by Elnegron » Thu Aug 22, 2019 1:23 pm

Worry about getting to west finals and not idividual accolades flopper
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Re: James Harden: Media Narrative Impacted His MVP Chances 

Post#9 » by JosephDreams24 » Thu Aug 22, 2019 1:23 pm

You know, if Harden was more of a team player Houston would have been alot stronger. They had so much potential. Your numbers are useless you and your team are winning together.
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Re: James Harden: Media Narrative Impacted His MVP Chances 

Post#10 » by InTheNBADraft » Thu Aug 22, 2019 1:37 pm

There's only one MVP to go around, dude. The world does not revolve around you and your stats.
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Re: James Harden: Media Narrative Impacted His MVP Chances 

Post#11 » by Spud2nique » Thu Aug 22, 2019 3:16 pm

It’s funny to see a lot of comments here from obvious Warrior fans who can now resort to sideline watching! Get used to it scrubs! Kerr about to suck some real ones yo!
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Re: James Harden: Media Narrative Impacted His MVP Chances 

Post#12 » by nate33 » Thu Aug 22, 2019 3:29 pm

If anything, the media narrative helped Harden.

The narrative was that Houston was in trouble and then Harden put them on his back and carried them to the playoffs. But the reality is that Harden was part of their problem in the early part of the season. Yes, Harden turned it around, but he can't be absolved from his contribution to the initial malaise.

Giannis won it over Harden not because of any narrative. He won it because he was awesome from wire to wire, and his team was the best team in the league. It isn't any more complicated than that.
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Re: James Harden: Media Narrative Impacted His MVP Chances 

Post#13 » by LeMasta » Thu Aug 22, 2019 4:13 pm

Harden could easily have 3 MVPs imo, though Giannis did deserve that MVP over him.
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Re: James Harden: Media Narrative Impacted His MVP Chances 

Post#14 » by cpower » Thu Aug 22, 2019 4:17 pm

He is the definition of the regular season MVP coz he can't do anything in playoffs :lol:
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Re: James Harden: Media Narrative Impacted His MVP Chances 

Post#15 » by whiskyditka » Thu Aug 22, 2019 4:28 pm

Bucks finished 1st in the East at 60-22. Rockets finished 4th in the West at 53-29.

Giannis led all players with a PER of 30.95 compared to Harden's 30.62.

The crazy thing about PER category weights is that PER actually favors Harden. The top PER categories by weight are: FGM, Steals, 3PM and FTM. Harden is respectively 1st, 2nd, 1st and 1st in these categories. Giannis is 4th, 34th, 204th and 3rd, respectively, in these same categories.... and he still had the best overall Player Efficiency Rating.

Let's maybe talk about that narrative.
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Re: James Harden: Media Narrative Impacted His MVP Chances 

Post#16 » by BallerTalk » Thu Aug 22, 2019 4:35 pm

nate33 wrote:
The narrative was that Houston was in trouble and then Harden put them on his back and carried them to the playoffs. But the reality is that Harden was part of their problem in the early part of the season. Yes, Harden turned it around, but he can't be absolved from his contribution to the initial malaise.


Interesting take.
I'd argue Houston's slow start had more to do with roster misfits (Melo, Chriss, MCW, Knight, ect) and injuries/suspensions than anything else.

But even if we take your position at face value then shouldn't Giannis have been penalized for the second half of the season when the Bucks tapered slightly while the Rockets were the best team in the league?
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Re: James Harden: Media Narrative Impacted His MVP Chances 

Post#17 » by BallerTalk » Thu Aug 22, 2019 4:58 pm

Adam Stern wrote:He's not wrong.
For better or worse media narrative plays a HUGE role in MVP voting.
It's conspicuously self-serving since it's also the media that votes on the award.


Yep.

And the real problem is that certain voting members of the media have grudges, vendettas, and agendas particularly when it comes to certain players.
I really hadn't paid much attention to the process until 2017 when that close race prompted me to do some background research on the actual voters. Most voters at least try to be objective but some of those guys go into the season already decided on who the will and won't vote for.

It's also an unavoidable fact that the longer a player is in the MVP conversation the more it seems to work against him. Voter fatigue is a real thing. Plus the media always seem slightly more fascinated by the new name on the list. You've even had guys like Zach Lowe admit as much.

So yeah, that they get to craft the narrative that justifies their own vote does seem a bit self serving.
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Re: James Harden: Media Narrative Impacted His MVP Chances 

Post#18 » by whiskyditka » Thu Aug 22, 2019 5:40 pm

Overall though, the NBA should change the structure of who decides MVP to begin with. I don't see how it's fair to give media the full control over who gets to vote. There should be other stakeholders involved, such as [Owners, GMs and Head Coaches], Current NBA Players, former NBA players (perhaps select Hall of Famers) and Fans.

What the weight could potentially look like:
30% — Media (101 votes)
25% — Owners, GMs and Head Coaches (90 votes)
20% — Current NBA Players
22.5% — Former NBA Players
2.5% — Fans
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Re: James Harden: Media Narrative Impacted His MVP Chances 

Post#19 » by hyberx » Thu Aug 22, 2019 6:01 pm

Spud2nique wrote:It’s funny to see a lot of comments here from obvious Warrior fans who can now resort to sideline watching! Get used to it scrubs! Kerr about to suck some real ones yo!


Is that what happened to you, sideline watching, when the Ws won 3 out of the last 5 Final trips? Yeah being a loser do impact people's sanity as yo have shown right there. :lol:
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Re: James Harden: Media Narrative Impacted His MVP Chances 

Post#20 » by nate33 » Thu Aug 22, 2019 6:13 pm

BallerTalk wrote:
nate33 wrote:
The narrative was that Houston was in trouble and then Harden put them on his back and carried them to the playoffs. But the reality is that Harden was part of their problem in the early part of the season. Yes, Harden turned it around, but he can't be absolved from his contribution to the initial malaise.


Interesting take.
I'd argue Houston's slow start had more to do with roster misfits (Melo, Chriss, MCW, Knight, ect) and injuries/suspensions than anything else.

But even if we take your position at face value then shouldn't Giannis have been penalized for the second half of the season when the Bucks tapered slightly while the Rockets were the best team in the league?

Tapered slightly? The Bucks were wire-to-wire best record in the league.

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