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 least 30 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.”