Houston Rockets guard James Harden is having a truly sublime season.
In their game against the Los Angeles Clippers, Harden amassed a stunning stat that has only been accomplished twice before in NBA history.
James Harden is the 3rd player in @NBAHistory to record 2,700+ points and 500+ assists in a single season, joining Michael Jordan and Nate "Tiny" Archibald. #Rockets pic.twitter.com/eJVJNN3Hqs
— NBA.com/Stats (@nbastats) April 4, 2019
Whenever you’re on a list with Michael Jordan, you know your season is a success. Tiny Archibald, too, is a Hall of Famer and one of the best scorers/assist men in NBA history.
As one of the best offensive players of his generation, James Harden has made the 50-point triple-double something that seems normal, when in fact, it is an astonishing achievement. Beyond that, Harden had a streak of 30-plus games in which he scored 30 or more points, joining a list that includes only Wilt Chamberlain — more astonishing company.
The narrative of this season seems to be revolving around Giannis Antetokounmpo as the Most Valuable Player of the league, but Harden is undoubtedly making a strong case. In fact, even the numbers show that Harden is the best player in the league this year, as he leads in Player efficiency rating, win shares and value over replacement player.
James Harden has taken the lead in all three of the major advanced stats that we publish: PER, Win Shares, and VORP pic.twitter.com/umkh2Rf0IR
— Basketball Reference (@bball_ref) April 3, 2019
Perhaps The Greek Freak might be on the best team in the league and producing astonishing feats of athleticism on a night-to-night basis, but Harden’s achievements this year might be able to make him the next two-time MVP — joining Stephen Curry as the most recent player to win the award in back-to-back years.
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