IT appears James Harden is not yet ready to let go of his title as the NBA's best player.
Capping off a two-minute "fast talk" with the Houston Rockets superstar on Wednesday at SMX Convention Center, hosts Suzy and Tony Toni asked Harden to finish the sentence "I am James Harden, and I am..."
And Harden, with any prodding from the audience, completed the statement with "The MVP" that sent the crowd rocking.
His answer came a day after Giannis Antetokounmpo denied him of back-to-back NBA MVP awards as his Milwaukee Bucks rival took home the league's top individual award on Tuesday.
One fan inside the SMX hall, though, was adamant that Harden was the real MVP as he raised a placard the stated “THE TRUE MVP” along with his scoring (36.1), assists (7.5), and steals (2) averages the past NBA season.
Harden was in town to promote his latest signature shoe with Adidas – the Harden Vol. 3 – in the Manila stop of his “Free to Harden” Asian tour.
It was his fourth visit in the country – the third since he first came over as part of the biggest gathering of NBA stars in the country, named the “Smart All-Stars” who played two exhibition games, against the national team and the PBA All-Stars in 2011.
This time, the man also known as “The Beard” had a two-day stay, the first on Tuesday when he graced his presence in a game featuring persons with disability, before going on a photoshoot inside the University of the Philippine Diliman campus.
On Wednesday, the 29-year-old playmaker began his day with a meet-and-greet session at Adidas store in BGC.
His final stop was at SMX where he first answered pre-asked questions relayed by DJ Suzy in a press conference in front of media who did have to wait more than two hours before the event, supposedly set at 6 p.m., started.
In the main event of the Manila leg, Harden interacted with fans and joined a few games with some PBA players Aljon Mariano, Rey Nambatac, and J-Jay Alejandro as well as college standouts Bright Akhuetie and Richard Escoto, among others.
It seems Harden had a fun time in his return to the country.
As evidence, earlier in the fast talk segment, Harden was asked what his “favorite place in the world” was, and the Los Angeles, California native replied “Manila” without hesitation.
“I’d like to thank you all for having me. I hope you keep supporting me and I’ll continue to do for you,” Harden addressed the crowd before obliging to some autograph requests.
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