CP3 injury away from cementing his legacy with a ring. Or even just the refs not being terrorists in Game 7
Will always be a shame
NotManyBuses
Probably the best pure isolation 1v1 player ever at his peak. Had literally everything
TatersTot
He averaged 36 ppg in 2019, 43.6 ppg in January missing CP3 and Capela.
I turned from a hater into a fan overnight after that
WembyOKCJokicReaves
That two month stretch during the 2018-19 season where he averaged 40 PPG will never be forgotten
It’s criminal that he didn’t win MVP that season
bootywizard42O
Harden played at a level very few players ever reached. Man was unguardable and unstoppable.
Cheezy_Dick_Itch
This last week would’ve made Kobe come out of retirement lol
gigglios
Robbed of mvps. Robbed of a goat tier title in 2018 due to injuries and sketchy g7 refs.
JAhoops
Unguardable Tour Harden really was special
CMYGQZ
He once had an over/under at 42.5, and he scored 60
PersepolisBullseye
Been getting downvoted forever for saying he is one of the greatest ever.
NBA fans overvalue championships when no other sport scrutinizes that same thing to the same extent when judging greatness – championships in those sports are consistently viewed as “gravy” and how a guy played is what actually counts.
If this same standard was applied to NBA players, Harden would popularly be considered a first ballot guy (as he already is imo)
zellmerz
I’ve never seen a more accurate depiction of a 1-man-offense than prime James Harden. He gets a lot of shit for a number of reasons, but I think people are too quick to ignore how great a player he actually was.
phuijun
James harden is arguably the 2nd most influential nba player—behind Curry—in his generation. The moves that most kids use in games are straight out of harden’s playbook. Harden is criminally underrated on his impact to the game.
MoneyMakingMitch1
r/NBA going through another disastrous shambles with another player calling Kob their GOAT. Gotta love it.
readitmoderator
Harden’s step back 3 and his ability to draw the whistle was a one of a kind
Lets be fair here, he was/will be known as someone who benefited from foul baiting/superstar-whistle to where people were afraid to guard him physically, opening up shots that weren’t there come playoffs (he abused tf out of the rip through move to the point they no longer counted it towards a shooting foul), not to mention the abundance of free throws artificially boosted shooting efficiency numbers as a result of those “attempts” not counting and inflated his scoring statistics. Plus they were really fast and loose with what counted as a legal “step back” jumper and not just a travel, where it’s pretty easy to get separation if you can take 4-5 shuffle steps without dribbling
Don’t get me wrong, he’s still an all-time great scorer in his prime (at least regular season wise) and I don’t necessarily think he didn’t deserve those MVP’s, but the numbers don’t tell the truth, IMO.
ddonovan715
I hope we never see someone shooting 20 fts a night ever again
whykae
If he did that without the BS really over-the-top foul baiting, I’d be a fan.
Agent21EMH
I consider myself a Harden fan, more than most who are where I am in the northeast.
However in retrospect, I can say now objectively Harden was properly rated during that time. His 34 and 36ppg seasons were incredible from a numbers standpoint and you can’t argue his teams were probably the only pure counterpart to GSW and many years were the finals before the finals, even if it was in round 2.
That said, the way he scored was pretty unremarkable to the average fan and his style of between the legs dribble into step back 3, between the legs dribble to into pump fake, foul bait.. rip thru and foul bait, then finally an in the lane floater, was exhausting as well as the 12+ free throws a lot of the time.
I’m of the opinion his 36ppg season should have netted him MVP and the season he actually won it probably was not even the one he should have, but I think a few players are capable of these kinda numbers if they played in high usage iso ball with 10 threes a game and 10 free throws a game. It’s just not how you win in the post-season.
I think Luka could do this, I think KD could have done this any season he wanted, Lebron could do it, Kawhi maybe, but ya, Harden is neither underrated or overrated for that stretch, it was cool, but the context makes it less so.
Ornery-Living-490
Yeah they changed the rules so Harden can’t flop anymore
PaperMoon-
Man I fucking hate these edits
Cantguard-mike
I love hating on harden as much as the next guy…but when we look at it level headed …what he did was greatest scoring run ever
Ok_Translator4447
Most of today’s NBA fans came from this Harden run that they’re talking about.
EdeniEdits
I love when Harden is discussed cause it shows who’s a boxscore/highlight watcher and who watched his actual games.
Dude was a guaranteed offense.
aman_hasnon_ame
Cuz was cooking
realfakejames
This shit is why I’ll always listen to players over 35 year old fans on twitter, they understood what Houston Harden was doing was crazy because they were watching it up close
Louis-grabbing-pills
“My GOAT”
That term is becoming meaningless now.
Just say “my favorite player.”
Wisesize
I’ll never forget they guarding him from behind. Like what??
radpandaparty
I will die on the hill that Harden should have won Steph’s first MVP. Steph led the Warriors to the best record but that was the Warriors squad with Dray, Klay, Iguodala, Barnes, Bogut, etc. the team was so deep. Harden only had Dwight for 41 games (literally half the season) and dragged the Rockets to the second best record.
Spirit_Insurance
Harden was one of the best offensive players of all time. Ppl just enjoyed making jokes over him losing to the best teams of all time more than actually appreciating his game
Low-iq-haikou
Best offensive stretch I’ve ever seen. You were either fast enough to guard him or strong enough, but never both. And he was always gonna leverage one or the other at will.
NfiniteNsight
*furiously draws foul*
MoneyMontgomery
Thank you for the vid. Loved me some Rockets Harden, it’s nice to see elite players giving respect to something amazing.
trinxified
That run Harden had made fantasy leagues broken. He was worth like 3 first round players
Sperm_Garage
The stepback / sidestep three made an insane amount of space, and if you somehow stayed with him, he was jumping into you or bringing his arms into your arm, so you hit him during his shot.
You finally lean into the stepback and cover it well without being even slightly out of positon, so he drives past you and his first look is a shooter in the corner with a help defender dropping, then Capela over the top to keep the big honest, then the cradle / euro once he’s forced any help to stay home
The cradles / euro layups were unstoppable one on one because he’d use his body to seal you off, make space, and finish since he was strong as shit and had an insane touch. If you try to reach in and interrupt the euro or cradle by tying up the ball, he’d hook your arm, make you foul him, and have the touch to make it anyway.
You stay up on him, force him to drive, your team makes good rotations, helps down on him, and he can’t just make a pass to an open shot? Then he throws up an extremely consistent floater that you are not allowed to contest without getting your arm hooked and sending him to the line again.
The dude broke the game. He was completely unguardable. His game would still be insanely effective with the new system of offensive fouls (like 30 ppg instead of 36), but god damn was it effective with the old ruleset.
Regardless of what you think about the ethics of his style, he will always be remembered as a player the league had to nerf. That’s a wild legacy to me and the further removed from it I am the more I respect it in a way.
Weird-Lie-9037
The nba allowing harden 3 to 4 steps on his step back and then ignoring his offensive fouls and instead calling it on the defense and giving harden free throws made how great. The minute they stopped giving him those calls his game became average
KillyShoot
That Houston run…. Shit of legend. We will look back and truly appreciate.
warrior_in_a_garden_
Harden was the most underrated player in the league for almost a decade. Anyone that says he’s just all free throws didn’t ever watch him play.
InterCityzen
James harden you will forever be my goat
not_happening4
Yea we’ll never see a big ass beard like that again
SamuraiNeutron
He is the most disrespected player of all time
mayapop
I agree with DeMar. Harden is the only player I can think of where it would be appropriate to describe in terms of dexterity and agility first. Such a unique combination of traits. One of the greatest offensive talents ever.
It’s a shame that for most, he will primarily be remembered as a guy who didn’t win. Then you get into the fact that he didn’t care at all about defense. He had a tendency to disappear in the playoffs. He disrespected the game with his metabasketball rule exploitation bullshit. You take the whole package of his career and it’s a travesty.
What could have been if OKC traded Westbrook instead
mkohler23
James harden at his peak is the greatest offensive player we’ve ever seen.
There’s an argument for Wilt but he struggled at the line and didn’t shoot from 3, also just dominated by being a physical monster in a less physically gifted era. Now harden was the mix of everything. Shooting, footwork, finishing. He was way more efficient and ranged than his SG comps, and he was more focused on scoring than a guy like Lebron. Honestly nobody comes close to harden on offense at his peak.
44 Comments
CP3 injury away from cementing his legacy with a ring. Or even just the refs not being terrorists in Game 7
Will always be a shame
Probably the best pure isolation 1v1 player ever at his peak. Had literally everything
He averaged 36 ppg in 2019, 43.6 ppg in January missing CP3 and Capela.
I turned from a hater into a fan overnight after that
That two month stretch during the 2018-19 season where he averaged 40 PPG will never be forgotten
It’s criminal that he didn’t win MVP that season
Harden played at a level very few players ever reached. Man was unguardable and unstoppable.
This last week would’ve made Kobe come out of retirement lol
Robbed of mvps. Robbed of a goat tier title in 2018 due to injuries and sketchy g7 refs.
Unguardable Tour Harden really was special
He once had an over/under at 42.5, and he scored 60
Been getting downvoted forever for saying he is one of the greatest ever.
NBA fans overvalue championships when no other sport scrutinizes that same thing to the same extent when judging greatness – championships in those sports are consistently viewed as “gravy” and how a guy played is what actually counts.
If this same standard was applied to NBA players, Harden would popularly be considered a first ballot guy (as he already is imo)
I’ve never seen a more accurate depiction of a 1-man-offense than prime James Harden. He gets a lot of shit for a number of reasons, but I think people are too quick to ignore how great a player he actually was.
James harden is arguably the 2nd most influential nba player—behind Curry—in his generation. The moves that most kids use in games are straight out of harden’s playbook. Harden is criminally underrated on his impact to the game.
r/NBA going through another disastrous shambles with another player calling Kob their GOAT. Gotta love it.
Harden’s step back 3 and his ability to draw the whistle was a one of a kind
[DeRozan remembers this for sure.](https://youtu.be/bxayzDWW9Qw?si=WtMJhQkurt7jfWZw)
Lets be fair here, he was/will be known as someone who benefited from foul baiting/superstar-whistle to where people were afraid to guard him physically, opening up shots that weren’t there come playoffs (he abused tf out of the rip through move to the point they no longer counted it towards a shooting foul), not to mention the abundance of free throws artificially boosted shooting efficiency numbers as a result of those “attempts” not counting and inflated his scoring statistics. Plus they were really fast and loose with what counted as a legal “step back” jumper and not just a travel, where it’s pretty easy to get separation if you can take 4-5 shuffle steps without dribbling
Don’t get me wrong, he’s still an all-time great scorer in his prime (at least regular season wise) and I don’t necessarily think he didn’t deserve those MVP’s, but the numbers don’t tell the truth, IMO.
I hope we never see someone shooting 20 fts a night ever again
If he did that without the BS really over-the-top foul baiting, I’d be a fan.
I consider myself a Harden fan, more than most who are where I am in the northeast.
However in retrospect, I can say now objectively Harden was properly rated during that time. His 34 and 36ppg seasons were incredible from a numbers standpoint and you can’t argue his teams were probably the only pure counterpart to GSW and many years were the finals before the finals, even if it was in round 2.
That said, the way he scored was pretty unremarkable to the average fan and his style of between the legs dribble into step back 3, between the legs dribble to into pump fake, foul bait.. rip thru and foul bait, then finally an in the lane floater, was exhausting as well as the 12+ free throws a lot of the time.
I’m of the opinion his 36ppg season should have netted him MVP and the season he actually won it probably was not even the one he should have, but I think a few players are capable of these kinda numbers if they played in high usage iso ball with 10 threes a game and 10 free throws a game. It’s just not how you win in the post-season.
I think Luka could do this, I think KD could have done this any season he wanted, Lebron could do it, Kawhi maybe, but ya, Harden is neither underrated or overrated for that stretch, it was cool, but the context makes it less so.
Yeah they changed the rules so Harden can’t flop anymore
Man I fucking hate these edits
I love hating on harden as much as the next guy…but when we look at it level headed …what he did was greatest scoring run ever
Most of today’s NBA fans came from this Harden run that they’re talking about.
I love when Harden is discussed cause it shows who’s a boxscore/highlight watcher and who watched his actual games.
Dude was a guaranteed offense.
Cuz was cooking
This shit is why I’ll always listen to players over 35 year old fans on twitter, they understood what Houston Harden was doing was crazy because they were watching it up close
“My GOAT”
That term is becoming meaningless now.
Just say “my favorite player.”
I’ll never forget they guarding him from behind. Like what??
I will die on the hill that Harden should have won Steph’s first MVP. Steph led the Warriors to the best record but that was the Warriors squad with Dray, Klay, Iguodala, Barnes, Bogut, etc. the team was so deep. Harden only had Dwight for 41 games (literally half the season) and dragged the Rockets to the second best record.
Harden was one of the best offensive players of all time. Ppl just enjoyed making jokes over him losing to the best teams of all time more than actually appreciating his game
Best offensive stretch I’ve ever seen. You were either fast enough to guard him or strong enough, but never both. And he was always gonna leverage one or the other at will.
*furiously draws foul*
Thank you for the vid. Loved me some Rockets Harden, it’s nice to see elite players giving respect to something amazing.
That run Harden had made fantasy leagues broken. He was worth like 3 first round players
The stepback / sidestep three made an insane amount of space, and if you somehow stayed with him, he was jumping into you or bringing his arms into your arm, so you hit him during his shot.
You finally lean into the stepback and cover it well without being even slightly out of positon, so he drives past you and his first look is a shooter in the corner with a help defender dropping, then Capela over the top to keep the big honest, then the cradle / euro once he’s forced any help to stay home
The cradles / euro layups were unstoppable one on one because he’d use his body to seal you off, make space, and finish since he was strong as shit and had an insane touch. If you try to reach in and interrupt the euro or cradle by tying up the ball, he’d hook your arm, make you foul him, and have the touch to make it anyway.
You stay up on him, force him to drive, your team makes good rotations, helps down on him, and he can’t just make a pass to an open shot? Then he throws up an extremely consistent floater that you are not allowed to contest without getting your arm hooked and sending him to the line again.
The dude broke the game. He was completely unguardable. His game would still be insanely effective with the new system of offensive fouls (like 30 ppg instead of 36), but god damn was it effective with the old ruleset.
Regardless of what you think about the ethics of his style, he will always be remembered as a player the league had to nerf. That’s a wild legacy to me and the further removed from it I am the more I respect it in a way.
The nba allowing harden 3 to 4 steps on his step back and then ignoring his offensive fouls and instead calling it on the defense and giving harden free throws made how great. The minute they stopped giving him those calls his game became average
That Houston run…. Shit of legend. We will look back and truly appreciate.
Harden was the most underrated player in the league for almost a decade. Anyone that says he’s just all free throws didn’t ever watch him play.
James harden you will forever be my goat
Yea we’ll never see a big ass beard like that again
He is the most disrespected player of all time
I agree with DeMar. Harden is the only player I can think of where it would be appropriate to describe in terms of dexterity and agility first. Such a unique combination of traits. One of the greatest offensive talents ever.
It’s a shame that for most, he will primarily be remembered as a guy who didn’t win. Then you get into the fact that he didn’t care at all about defense. He had a tendency to disappear in the playoffs. He disrespected the game with his metabasketball rule exploitation bullshit. You take the whole package of his career and it’s a travesty.
What could have been if OKC traded Westbrook instead
James harden at his peak is the greatest offensive player we’ve ever seen.
There’s an argument for Wilt but he struggled at the line and didn’t shoot from 3, also just dominated by being a physical monster in a less physically gifted era. Now harden was the mix of everything. Shooting, footwork, finishing. He was way more efficient and ranged than his SG comps, and he was more focused on scoring than a guy like Lebron. Honestly nobody comes close to harden on offense at his peak.
I hope we never see it again