James Harden has been balling out of his mind as of late for the Brooklyn Nets, especially in the absence of both Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving. However, not a lot of pundits have him high on their list of MVP candidates this season.

As far as The Beard is concerned, though, his legitimacy as a true MVP contender should be out of the question.

After leading the Nets to a 113-111 win over the Detroit Pistons at Little Caesars Arena on Friday, Harden boldly declared that he is the MVP.

“I feel like I belong again, I feel like I am the MVP. It's that simple. I don't want to be speaking individually about myself, but I just try to go out there every single night and give my teammates everything I can bring to the game,” Harden said in his postgame interview.

James Harden did pull off an MVP-worthy performance for the Nets, scattering all-around numbers of 44 points, eight rebounds and 14 assists on 14-for-30 shooting from the floor and 4-of-11 from downtown in 42 minutes. He has truly elevated his game since joining Brooklyn in that blockbuster trade and still leads the league in assists at 11.2 per contest.

While the 31-year-old megastar already has one MVP plum in his trophy case back in 2018, this isn't the first time he aired his case for himself for the award. Harden publicly said that he also should have been MVP in 2019, claiming he had a better season than the eventual winner Giannis Antetokounmpo.

As phenomenal as Harden has been for Brooklyn, it's hard to side with him on this one considering the number of more worthy contenders this season. Injured superstars Joel Embiid and LeBron James arguably have stronger cases than Harden, while Nikola Jokic has emerged as the frontrunner since the All-Star break.