How will you remember James Harden's legacy in his 9 seasons at Houston Rockets?

[Drygon]

In 2012, the Rockets got James Harden in exchange for two scrubs, two 1st round picks & one 2nd rounder.

After 9 years in Houston, James Harden was traded to Brooklyn Nets few hours ago.

What's your take on his legacy at Houston Rockets? Here's what James Harden accomplishments there.

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- Regular season: 29.6 PPG, 6.0 RPG, 7.7 APG on shooting splits 44.3/36.2/86.2 with 61.2 TS%

- Playoffs: 28.4 PPG, 5.7 RPG, 7.1 APG on shooting splits 42.1/32.4/87.1 with 57.8 TS%

- NBA Most Valuable Player (2018)

- 8× NBA All-Star (2013–2020)

- 6× All-NBA First Team (2014, 2015, 2017–2020)

- All-NBA Third Team (2013)

- 3× NBA scoring champion (2018–2020)

- NBA assists leader (2017)

[SouBeachTalents]

Insane regular seasons, lots of playoff chokes

[DoctorP]

Insane regular seasons, lots of playoff chokes

This

[Marchesk]

Hard to believe the Thunder lost all three of them without winning a title first. If Presti knew Harden would be a league leading scorer and MVP, would he have tried for a better haul?

[Uncle Drew]

Should have won in, what, 2018, when they missed like 20 3's in a row or something. Other than that, can't say I am remotely interested in remembering anything from Harden's Rockets. Perhaps the 3-1 comeback against the Clippers while he was riding the pine.

[PeroAntic]

as a loser

[Uncle Drew]

Hard to believe the Thunder lost all three of them without winning a title first. If Presti knew Harden would be a league leading scorer and MVP, would he have tried for a better haul?

They didn't even had to extend Harden at that point. They could have waited another year or given Ibaka a little less. Absolute shambles.

[Nike D'Antoni]

He fell short to Warriors every year, and once Warriors went somehow Lebron showed up.

[SATAN]

Chucker, flopper and league cancer. Nothing more, nothing less.

[Proctor]

Chucker, flopper and league cancer. Nothing more, nothing less.
And we're done here. :applause:

[HBK_Kliq_2]

Great scorer on bad teams. Chokes in playoffs every year. Needs to go back to being the 6th man for Durant's team. Damn cuck. You'l see, he will choke again in playoffs. That's what he does. Running back to Durant will not save him.

[warriorfan]

No trolling but he’s just kind of a loser. Amazing basketball talent but he is a little bitch.

[RoundMoundOfReb]

It began with LeBron James (destroying 3 MVP Thunder team) and ended with LeBron James.

[DoctorP]

His game fell apart in the playoffs when shooting percentages fall and open looks are tough to come by. He becomes just another good guard, nothing special and that's what I will remember most.

[Druckenmiller]

How will you remember James Harden's legacy in his 8 seasons at Houston Rockets?

Who says I will.

[3ball]

I'll remember him for being a guy that had better stats than lebron for most of his houston tenure, but couldn't win because he hadn't colluded for a 3rd star or AD like Lebron did.

The only difference between harden and lebron was that lebron can't shoot and colluded, while harden didn't collude and can shoot

[StrongLurk]

Charles Barkley of the 2010's

[Gudo]

I’ve always appreciated harden as an individual player but not as a competitor.

[r0drig0lac]

https://media1.tenor.com/images/3a6ffe2e455b7665e68e1905247a874d/tenor.gif?itemid=12412980

[HylianNightmare]

chocked when the warriors handed him a straight shot to the finals

[tanibanana]

I won’t act cool, and bitch about his shortcomings and things unlikeable about him.
Dude is a baller... a heck of a scorer, an innovator of the game (his step-back and step-side three pointers). That is how he is going to be remembered.

[dirkdiggler41]

The anti-McGrady

[light]

I will remember him for scoring, scoring, scoring and scoring - and leading the league in assists - which is quite an accomplishment to lead the league in assists one season and then lead the league in scoring the next.

Ultimately he was a player that needed more help than the Rockets realized and he was essentially mismanaged and miscast as a man who could carry a franchise.

I find it hard to hate on MVPs like Harden or Curry or KD - these guys are historically elite. The group of stars and the teams they've created over the last 8-10 years or so is kind of unbelievable and this may be the greatest era of talent in NBA history when it's all said and done.

[TheGoatest]

Along with David Robinson and Wilt Chamberlain, he will be remembered as the player with the biggest regular season-to playoff performance drop ratio in league history.

[KingMambaFan]

Solid tenure

2013 - First round exit
2014 - First round exit
2015 - WCF
2016 - First round exit
2017 - Second round exit
2018 - WCF
2019 - Second round exit

Harden > Yao / TMAC

[coin24]

Loser

[paksat]

chuck chuck chuck chuck chuck

albeit at a high % but if you didn't know he was shooting at step back 3, now you know.

[Mr. Woke]

He had a great tenure in Houston.

Unfortunately they weren't as good as the Warriors because Harden never really had a great sidekick.

[Derka]

Prolific scorer, great passer when he wants assists, poor competitor, can make or break your locker room singlehandedly, can't win a title as a #1.

[guy]

One of the most overrated players ever. Incredible talent with amazing numbers, but I'm not sure there's a player in history who's intangibles were as terrible relative to his talent/stats.

-Choker in big playoff games
-At times, you can question his effort
-Ball dominant playing style not conducive to championships
-Consistently could not get along with other star players
-Partied all the time and made ownership/management/coaching bend to his needs
-Poor to average defender

The only other positive I can think of is he ALWAYS played, which is a rarity these days.

[Mr. Woke]

One of the most overrated players ever. Incredible talent with amazing numbers, but I'm not sure there's a player in history who's intangibles were as terrible relative to his talent/stats.

-Choker in big playoff games
-At times, you can question his effort
-Ball dominant playing style not conducive to championships
-Consistently could not get along with other star players
-Partied all the time and made ownership/management/coaching bend to his needs
-Poor to average defender

The only other positive I can think of is he ALWAYS played, which is a rarity these days.

A star player can't always have a great game.

His playing style wasn't the problem. He never had a truly great second option who could stay healthy on a consistent basis.

His partying was not preventing him from playing at a high level.

Management should cater to star players. That is a no brainer.

[guy]

A star player can't always have a great game.

Compared to other great players, for him it was more often that he wasn't going to play up to his standard and even play flat out poorly in a big game where it mattered most.



His playing style wasn't the problem. He never had a truly great second option who could stay healthy on a consistent basis.

Nobody has ever won a championship with that level of ball domination. The closest is Lebron who is just a clearly better player in almost all aspects.



His partying was not preventing him from playing at a high level.

Management should cater to star players. That is a no brainer.

This is true, it seems like its more of an issue with him vs others though. He may have played at a high level with the partying but it could set a bad example for his teammates and may have prevented him from playing at an even higher level. Sure, we have no idea the impact of it, but he has the reputation of being notorious for this which indicates maybe he goes a bit overboard with it.

Management should cater to star players. But being consistently late to practices and team flights is just abusing that power and pissing off your teammates/coaches in the process. Again, with him it seems a bit overboard.

The bigger problem is ALL OF THESE seem to be an issue.

[AnaheimLakers24]

a loser

[tontoz]

Houston was the only team in the West to put a scare into the Warriors dynasty.

[bullettooth]

Chucker, flopper and league cancer. Nothing more, nothing less.

That's his career legacy.

[pandiani17]

I am amazed by the negative comments. I will remember him as the guy who kept the Rockets a contender for several years, winning an MVP trophy and being in the conversation various times. Despite the parting has not been the best, his years in Houston have been phenomenal.

[Mr. Woke]

Compared to other great players, for him it was more often that he wasn't going to play up to his standard and even play flat out poorly in a big game where it mattered most.



Nobody has ever won a championship with that level of ball domination. The closest is Lebron who is just a clearly better player in almost all aspects.



This is true, it seems like its more of an issue with him vs others though. He may have played at a high level with the partying but it could set a bad example for his teammates and may have prevented him from playing at an even higher level. Sure, we have no idea the impact of it, but he has the reputation of being notorious for this which indicates maybe he goes a bit overboard with it.

Management should cater to star players. But being consistently late to practices and team flights is just abusing that power and pissing off your teammates/coaches in the process. Again, with him it seems a bit overboard.

The bigger problem is ALL OF THESE seem to be an issue.

With regard to your first point, you are mistaken.

With regard to your second point, he lacked a great second option who could stay healthy on a consistent basis. Also, the Warriors simply had more talent than the Rockets during those years.

With regard to your third point, you have no idea if he was "consistently late to practices..." Those hit pieces/complaints (for the most part) came out a few months ago after he had expressed interest inn leaving Houston. IMO many reporters wanted to smear his name in order to create drama.

[Mr. Woke]

I am amazed by the negative comments. I will remember him as the guy who kept the Rockets a contender for several years, winning an MVP trophy and being in the conversation various times. Despite the parting has not been the best, his years in Houston have been phenomenal.

Spot on.

This thread is full of sour grapes.

Harden is a future first ballot HOF.

[Axe]

Never knew the hate on harden is this tremendous lol

[DoctorP]

Never knew the hate on harden is this tremendous lol

I like Harden. No beef.

[999Guy]

Harden’s career will be propped up slowly as time goes on. He’s got at least three good years left.

He’ll win a title probably within the next few and be set as a legend.

A wing player that did 28/11 and led the league in scoring. He’ll get a ton of talk for decades.

Had a dominant career around the same time as other legends.

People will actually have fun underdog arguing for his career compared to other guys. All the records he’s broken will be on info graphics in a Wilt kind of way in like year 2037.

This era of fans is so brain damaged from 24/7 sports media and deep rooted retarded trains of thought on NBA careers, and talent, and the game and sport itself it’s just hard to see right now.

[baudkarma]

This

This.

[baudkarma]

I don't hate Harden. I just think he's overrated. He puts up gaudy regular season stats, but his game doesn't translate to the postseason, and he doesn't seem to be able or willing to change the way he plays. I think he's going to be in the clubhouse with Chuck and Karl and Patrick and Stock.

[Axe]

I don't hate Harden. I just think he's overrated. He puts up gaudy regular season stats, but his game doesn't translate to the postseason, and he doesn't seem to be able or willing to change the way he plays. I think he's going to be in the clubhouse with Chuck and Karl and Patrick and Stock.
He and giannis are actually similar in this aspect. However, harden is still above him because he's been in the finals once already.

[PP34Deuce]

Tmac of his generation minus the injuries. Great regular season, average post season.

[LoneyROY7]

Tmac of his generation minus the injuries. Great regular season, average post season.

:roll: :roll:

T-Mac couldn't even make it out of the 1st round.

[Axe]

:roll: :roll:

T-Mac couldn't even make it out of the 1st round.
That is despite being a hof'er too :oldlol:

[Wally450]

Always coming up short unfortunately. :(

[kawhileonard2]

That he is considered King James.

[guy]

With regard to your first point, you are mistaken.

No I'm not. We don't need to go into specifics. He doesn't have that reputation for no reason.



With regard to your second point, he lacked a great second option who could stay healthy on a consistent basis. Also, the Warriors simply had more talent than the Rockets during those years.

The Warriors outside of the KD years were nothing special talent wise. They just appear so because of how successful they were which is a function of their playing style and chemistry which doesn't revolve heavily around ISO ball vs ball movement. The Warriors are not as good, and more importantly Klay and Draymond are not as good, if you replaced Steph with Harden based on the way they play. Now if Harden could actually change how he plays to be more like Steph, maybe I'm wrong, but there is nothing that indicates he could.

So with that said, he gets a pass for 1 season, 2018. He wasn't "overmatched" in 2014 vs the Blazers, 2015 vs the Warriors, 2016 vs the Warriors, 2017 vs the Spurs (missing Kawhi at the end of the series), 2019 vs the Warriors (missing KD at the end of the series).

And sure we can disagree about that if you want, but either way, doesn't change anything I said. No one has won a championship playing the way he plays.



With regard to your third point, you have no idea if he was "consistently late to practices..." Those hit pieces/complaints (for the most part) came out a few months ago after he had expressed interest inn leaving Houston. IMO many reporters wanted to smear his name in order to create drama.

So the collective media colluded together to do this? There wasn't a strong denial after that. Sure, we don't know but we can only go by what's been widespread reported. Otherwise, how else can we judge certain things?

Its pretty obvious he consistently has not gotten along with other star teammates, so it wouldn't be surprising if those things were true. Now sure, guys like Dwight, CP3, and Westbrook have their own history of that as well, but doesn't change Harden's history.

[Mr. Woke]

No I'm not. We don't need to go into specifics. He doesn't have that reputation for no reason.



The Warriors outside of the KD years were nothing special talent wise. They just appear so because of how successful they were which is a function of their playing style and chemistry which doesn't revolve heavily around ISO ball vs ball movement. The Warriors are not as good, and more importantly Klay and Draymond are not as good, if you replaced Steph with Harden based on the way they play. Now if Harden could actually change how he plays to be more like Steph, maybe I'm wrong, but there is nothing that indicates he could.

So with that said, he gets a pass for 1 season, 2018. He wasn't "overmatched" in 2014 vs the Blazers, 2015 vs the Warriors, 2016 vs the Warriors, 2017 vs the Spurs (missing Kawhi at the end of the series), 2019 vs the Warriors (missing KD at the end of the series).

And sure we can disagree about that if you want, but either way, doesn't change anything I said. No one has won a championship playing the way he plays.



So the collective media colluded together to do this? There wasn't a strong denial after that. Sure, we don't know but we can only go by what's been widespread reported. Otherwise, how else can we judge certain things?

Its pretty obvious he consistently has not gotten along with other star teammates, so it wouldn't be surprising if those things were true. Now sure, guys like Dwight, CP3, and Westbrook have their own history of that as well, but doesn't change Harden's history.

There are two sides to every story.

[pandiani17]

[QUOTE=guy;14228448]No I'm not. We don't need to go into specifics. He doesn't have that reputation for no reason.



The Warriors outside of the KD years were nothing special talent wise. They just appear so because of how successful they were which is a function of their playing style and chemistry which doesn't revolve heavily around ISO ball vs ball movement. The Warriors are not as good, and more importantly Klay and Draymond are not as good, if you replaced Steph with Harden based on the way they play. Now if Harden could actually change how he plays to be more like Steph, maybe I'm wrong, but there is nothing that indicates he could.

How did they have All-Star Iguodala coming off the bench, then?:biggums: Curry, Klay, Dray, Bogut, David Lee, Harrison Barnes... They were loaded.

[imdaman99]

Played on the only team to put a dent in the Warriors stacked armor :confusedshrug:

[Real14]

dribble, dribble, dribble, flop, foul lines and.... Yes! Lamez Retarden:applause: