In his prime, James Harden was one of the vital dominant offensive gamers within the league. He was a famous person who rivaled all-time greats equivalent to Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant in scoring and playmaking.
Former MVP James Harden is acknowledged as among the finest gamers of the fashionable period. If you happen to take a look at his numbers, you may see that he is in the identical league as most of the greats in basketball.
Even when Harden does not have a championship, he was a productive famous person. His heyday was with the Golden State Warriors, enjoying alongside Kevin Durant. Subsequently, regardless of his spectacular numbers, the Houston Rockets have been unable to win the title.
Regardless of his titleless struggles, fellow NBA legend Charles Barkley spoke extremely of him. The Corridor of Fame ahead believes Harden is sweet sufficient to compete on the identical stage as names like Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant.
By means of 16 NBA seasons, Harden has averaged 24.1 factors. He has been a standout with a number of groups, however most notably in his profession was with Houston. In 9 years with the Rockets, he averaged a formidable 29.6 factors and seven.7 assists per sport.
His protection was powerful when he left the Rockets, however his productiveness hasn’t reached the identical stage. Though he wasn’t the identical stage of scorer, he confirmed extra maturity and developed as some extent guard.
Barkley is an enormous fan of Harden, which is why he hails him as one of many biggest offensive gamers in NBA historical past.
“He is the best offensive participant I’ve ever seen,” Barkley stated on ESPN in 2021. “From a guard standpoint, Michael and Kobe have been higher gamers, however offensively, they could not shoot threes like he did.”
“They weren’t that nice at dribbling the basketball, going to the basket, getting fouled. Each time he goes to the basket, he tries to get anyone to take two free throws. We’ve got to provide this man credit score. He is an offensive machine, plain and easy.”
Although some might deny it, Harden has grow to be one of the vital impactful gamers within the league. He was a taking pictures guard, targeted on placing the ball within the basket. As he grew, Harden turned maybe the league’s finest playmaker within the pick-and-roll and in transition.
Harden deserves all of the credit score as a result of he can run the offense on his personal. Many gamers right now have adopted his instance. Names like Trae Younger and Luka Doncic thrived within the roles Harden pioneered and went on to grow to be nice NBA gamers.
For years, some have averted speaking about Harden in the most effective gentle. However he was an excellent participant, particularly offensively, and established himself as one of many league’s largest stars.
Barkley’s opinion is legitimate, as Harden has all the time discovered a means to assist his crew produce the most effective offense attainable.
