From dreaming of being a mix of players who were championship heroes to being an MVP and a playoff flop, James Harden forgot his aspirations.
over the years, James Harden throughout the NBA season, Michael Jordan I played games.When Wilt Chamberlain before him.
The 2018 MVP averaged over 36 points per game in 78 games during the 2018-19 season. The last time MJ won was 32 years before him that season. Wilt has apparently done it more than once.
But it wasn’t Chamberlain or Jordan, it was the rookie Harden wanted to be when he first joined the league.
The former Rockets sensation wanted to be more of a team-first guy when he first joined the league, as opposed to the pure scorer he’s become over the years.
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Rookie James Harden wanted to be a mix of Paul Pierce and Manu Ginobili
James joined the league in 2009 when Paul Pierce was in his prime and led the Celtics to a championship, winning Finals MVP just one year earlier. Manu Ginobili was also a straight killer who played as the Spurs’ sixth man and contributed to three championships by then.
Harden wanted to be both, and he wanted to be the kind of player his coach wanted him to be.
He got the chance to become Manu for the OKC Thunder led by Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. And he came very close to becoming what he set out to be, with some great numbers leading his OKC bench as a young threat to the West.
10 years ago today..
James Harden hit what could be the biggest shot in Thunder history to give OKC a 3-2 lead at the 2012 WCF.
What time is it..pic.twitter.com/XAtVcMZ2F9
— Thunder Film Room (@ThunderFilmRoom) June 4, 2022
But his meltdowns in the final two games of the 2012 Finals are just the beginning of the pattern. He failed to do what his two idols do best: to do their best when it matters most.
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Fast forward 10 years and James has gone on to do ridiculous things over the years, become a 10x All-Star and, like Pierce, one of the 75 greatest players in the NBA. He was consistently unable to be part of the team when they needed him most.
But he’s looking more like Team Guy than ever since coming to Brooklyn this year and then to Philadelphia. , should I say Joel Embiid’s team?
