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James Harden Brushes Off Criticism Following Disappointing Season: “’I Wasn’t Right Last Season And I Still Almost Averaged A Triple-Double”

Last year’s NBA campaign was viewed as a down season for James Harden. Though he remained a solid well-rounded player with averages of 7.7 rebounds and 10.3 assists per game, Harden witnessed a significant drop-off in the scoring column, tallying just 22.0 points on 41.0% shooting during the regular season.

The NBA playoffs also appeared to be too much for Harden. Brought in to ease off the load of Joel Embiid, Harden failed to live up to expectations, putting up 18.6 points, 5.7 rebounds and 8.6 assists per game on a lackluster 40.5% shooting from the field through two playoff series.

Harden’s last season struggles turned a number of fans and observers to criticize his game. But the former league MVP has made it known that he’s not too concerned about it, emphasizing how he was still able to fill up the stat sheet despite not being in a right state.

Per Yahoo Sports:

“I don’t really listen to what people are saying. I wasn’t right last season and I still almost averaged a triple-double,” Harden told Yahoo Sports. “If anybody else had those numbers, we’d be talking about them getting the max. People were used to seeing me averaging 40, 30 points, and so they viewed it as a down year. I was in Philadelphia for a couple of months and I had to learn on the fly. That’s just what it was. I’m in a good space physically and mentally right now, and I’m just looking forward to next season.”