As he turned 35 years old yesterday, one of last decade's elite scorers, James Harden, has carved a niche for himself. The 3rd pick in the 2009 draft, the former Thunder guard found himself in the esteemed company of Stephen Curry, Blake Griffin, and DeMar DeRozan.
Despite Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook as teammates in his career’s early days, Harden did manage to draw attention with his play, even making a Finals appearance in 2012. However, it wasn’t until he was traded to the Houston Rockets that the league witnessed the emergence of what we call a walking bucket.
In his nine years with the Rockets, Harden had some of his most memorable moments on the hardwood. The ten-time All-Star became a favorite among the younger generation with his step-back jumpers, dribbling, and crafty layups.
The Beard was unstoppable in isolation situations, but he was never able to capture a championship for the city of Houston. He was really close in 2018 when his team had a 3-1 series lead in the Western Conference finals against the Golden State Warriors. However, Harden didn't play well in the deciding games, Chris Paul got hurt, and the Warriors were able to win in seven games.
After his exit from Houston in 2021, the former MVP was never able to regain his MVP form. He formed a big three in Brooklyn where he shared the court with Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant, but injuries and chemistry issues doomed that team.
After just a year, he got traded to the Philadelphia 76ers to form a powerful tandem with Joel Embiid. Completely changing his style, Harden was able to successfully adapt to his new role on the team as the pass-first Point Guard, and he even led the league in the assists with 10.7 a game average. Playoff success once again eluded him though, as the team lost in the second round of the Playoffs against the Boston Celtics in 7 games.
James Harden - The scoring beast
Three scoring titles under his belt, scoring 30 points a game was just a normal day at work for The Beard. The ten-time All-Star is among the top 5 members of the 40-point and 50-point clubs, among legendary names like Wilt Chamberlain, Michael Jordan, and Kobe Bryant.
One of the veteran guard’s most notable feats was his 30-point game streak in the 2018-19 season. Spanning between December 2018 and February 2019, Harden had thirty-two continuous games, scoring at least 30 points.
Between January 2018 and November 2019, Harden had four games with 60 points, with one of them even being a triple-double.
Current role with the Clippers
In a similar role that he had with the Sixers, Harden has transitioned his game into more of a facilitator with the Clippers as well. The scoring beast from Houston has slowed down considerably but continues to make his impact.
The upcoming 2024-25 season is a great opportunity for the superstar to regain his position as one of the sole initiators on offense alongside Kawhi Leonard. The exit of Paul George may have Coach Lue permit Harden to play his ball-dominant game, which will be crucial for the team's success in 2025. Most experts don't give Clippers any chance for Playoff success next season, but Harden can change that narrative if he turns back the clock.
However his Clippers tenure ends, there's no doubt that Harden has earned himself a first ballot Hall of Fame selection as one of the greatest scorers this game has ever seen.
Related: Lakers owner Jeanie Buss shaded Clipper fans in her comments of Intuit Dome opening
Most Popular
Comments / 0