Basic Information
James Harden is a 32 year old shooting guard currently playing for the Brooklyn Nets, and he previously played for the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Houston Rockets during his NBA career, and he played in Arizona State University in college. He stands at six feet five inches and weighs 220 pounds.
Early Life
James Edward Harden Jr. was born in Los Angeles on August 26, 1989. He attended Artesia High School where he led his high school basketball team to two state championship titles. During his senior year, in 2007, he was a 5-star recruit, and he was ranked around the top 20 best player in the nation. Also, during his last year high school year, he decided to commit to Arizona State University.
College Career
Harden spent two years playing for the Arizona State Sun Devils (2007-2009). During his freshman year, he averaged 17.8 points, 3.2 assists, and 5.3 rebounds per game. While during his sophomore year, he averaged 20.1 points, 4.2 assists, and 5.6 rebounds per game, and at the end of his second year, he won the Pac-10 player of the year (Best player in his basketball conference). After spending two years in college, he decided to declare for the 2009 NBA draft.
NBA Career
Harden was drafted by the Oklahoma City Thunder with the third overall pick. He spent three seasons with the Thunder from 2009-2012. During the majority of his career in Oklahoma City, he was not on the starting five lineup. During his stint with the Thunder, as a bench player, he averaged 12.7 points, 2.5 assists, and 3.4 rebounds per game (To see his full career statistics visit this page: Statistics). The Thunder reached the NBA Finals during Harden’s last year with the team, but they eventually lost to the Miami Heat led by Lebron James in five games, in a best of seven series.
After an unsuccessful contract agreement with the Thunder, Harden was traded to the Houston Rockets, on October 27, 2012 and he signed a five-year 80 million dollars contract days later. It was during his years with the Rockets where he earned the nickname of “The Beard” because it was during then he grew a thick beard. Although he never reached the NBA finals again, he became a superstar in the league. During his stint with the Rockets, he started every game, and he was named an NBA All-Star every season with the Rockets. During the 2017-2018 season, he was named NBA most valuable player, and fans, and reporters thought it was Harden’s best chance to win a NBA championship title since 2012. Unfortunately, the Rockets fell short to the Golden State Warriors in the Western Conference Final. During the start of the 2020-2021 season, Harden requested a trade out of Houston after the head coach, Mike D’Antoni, and the general manager Daryl Morey departed from the organisation. He eventually gets traded to the Brooklyn Nets a few months later.
Playstyle
Harden is a shooting guard, and he is mostly a scorer, but he is also great at creating plays. He is known to score with his step-back three which is a move where the offensive player separate himself with the defender with a step back backward before shooting a three pointer. Even though he is standing at 6’5, he is great at driving to the basket. Harden is also known for his ability to draw fouls.
Examples of a step-back three: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gSDJ-HffHrU
