Why James Harden MUST Start In The 2015 All-Star Game

Houston Rockets’ fans — there you have it!

James Harden has been voted in as an All-Star for the 3rd consecutive year as a reserve!

Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports was the first to confirm the other day:

Houston's James Harden has been selected to the Western Conference All-Star reserves, league sources tell Yahoo.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) January 29, 2015

He totally deserves it and would be a nice replacement for Kobe Bryant who will be out for the season while he recovers from a surgical repair of a torn rotator cuff. He is expected to be on the shelf for nine months.

Kobe Bryant led all shooting guards in voting with more than 1.1 million votes while Harden came in 3rd as far as guards overall with more than 1.06 million votes.

Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry was the overall top vote-getter with nearly 1.51 million votes.

By the way, did anybody see the kicks he’ll be wearing for the game? SICK!

Here’s a picture for your viewing pleasure:

Looks like a signature Harden shoe — low-top, one solid dominating color with accentuation of bright colors that don’t seem to dominate, giving it a blended, yet cutting-edge appearance.

But now we’ve got some obvious news out of the way, it’s time for me to get on my soap box.

Why you may ask?

Because it’s imperative that he starts this game.

Harden is an MVP in every sense of the word.

There’s no way this Rockets’ would be flourishing as much as it was this season without him.

We’ve seen high-flying dunks, signature step-backs, killer crossovers and buzzer-beaters as he continues to euro-step his way into the grandeur of professional basketball worldwide.

Harden has made an 180 degree turn from earlier seasons in his career indicating that he is ready to take charge and take the Rockets to another level with his eclectic repertoire of basketball tools he has at his disposal.

I sometimes watch him and it’s like he’s a surgeon picking defenses apart utilizing the right tools to get the job done.

Jan 17, 2015; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Rockets guard James Harden (13) drives the ball to the basket during the second quarter as Golden State Warriors guard

Klay Thompson

(11) defends at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

But you don’t have to take my word for it.

He’s No.1 in the league in terms of win shares at an incredible 9.9 and is also is in front in terms of Wins Above Replacement (WAR) at an 8.0!

His 27.0 PPG he’s averaging is good for tops in the league and is currently more points than he has every score before per game. His assists (6.8 APG), rebounds (5.6 RPG) and free throw shooting (88 percent) are all up from previous seasons.

He definitely continues to be deft at finding ways to get to the charity stripe leading in free throw made (374) and attempts (423).

Do those sound like MVP numbers to you?

It does to me!

And he hasn’t even hit the center point of his prime yet!

I tend to forget that he’s only 25-years-old and there’s more to come from one of the most talented Rockets to ever bedazzle hoops fans throughout the Bayou City!

So here’s the deal Steve Kerr.