Once again, James Harden finished as the runner-up for the MVP Award, despite putting up superior offensive numbers to the winner. This isn’t the first time Harden has controversially fallen short of the MVP, as many argue he should’ve won the award in 2015 over Stephen Curry and in 2017 over Russell Westbrook.
Harden didn’t make an appearance at the 2019 NBA Awards, but that didn’t keep him from being included in a few jokes.
Comedian Hasan Minhaj made a light-hearted joke about Harden during the show. As Minhaj pointed out some of the best superstars in the room, he mentioned that James Harden didn’t show up, and compared it to the long-running joke that Harden disappears in the postseason.