Celtics news: Jayson Tatum thinks James Harden was robbed of MVP

Celtics star Jayson Tatum has thrown shade in the direction of reigning MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo believing that James Harden was robbed of the MVP title.

Boston Celtics rising star Jayson Tatum has thrown a bit of shade in the direction of reigning MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks. According to Tatum, he believes that Houston Rockets superstar James Harden was robbed of the MVP title last year.

That's a pretty strong statement from the Celtics forward right there, but it's not one that we've heard for the first time. Antetokounmpo earned the lion's share of last season's first place votes for MVP, leaving Harden as a distant second. Nonetheless, there are more than a few folks that believe that the race was much closer than the final voting made it seem, with some even going as far as saying that Harden should have won the award. Apparently, Tatum is on that same boat.

Last season, Giannis averaged 27.7 points (on 57.8 percent shooting), 12.5 rebounds, 5.9 assists, 1.3 steals, and 1.5 blocks, as he led the Bucks to a league-best 60-22 regular season record, only to be defeated by eventual champs, the Toronto Raptors in the Eastern Conference Finals.

On the other hand, Harden put up some crazy numbers, averaging 36.1 points, 6.6 rebounds, 7.5 assists, 2.0 steals, 0.7 blocks, and 4.8 triples per ballgame. The fact of the matter is that his output last season was even better compared to his MVP-winning 2017-18 campaign.

The debate can go on, and guys like Tatum can add further fire to the flame, but at the end of the day, the 2019 MVP trophy is sitting comfortably in Antetokounmpo's cabinet — there's no denying that.