@@freestuff1188 it's a simplification but he did have a very predictable offense. stepback 3 or head to rim for floater vs layup vs lob. in his prime he went away from his middy game because it was so efficient to go for stepbacks and drives but it kinda hurt him in playoffs, made it easier to plan around him
Glad the first step was highlighted. A lot of people talk about his step back 3s but prime harden had that plus an unbelievable first step which made him unguardable
His first step wouldn’t fly in FIBA ball because he basically never manages to put the ball down before lifting his pivot foot and literally stepping with it before the ball touches the ground 😂
@@dominiquewilson Nah, dude could accelerate from 0 to 100 in a second. The video literally talks about a big portion of his game was his ability to go from fast to slow to fast pace incredibly quick.
James Harden was one of the NBA players that brought me to the beautiful sport of basketball. He is like an engineer trying to figure out a way to simply their craft without sacrificing any resources or adding any costs. Many don't know this but it was reported that prior to the 2019-2020 season Kawhi wanted Harden on the Clippers rather than PG13. That would have been insanity. PS: Great Breakdown Hoop Venue!
kawhi really wanted 2 of the most inconsistent playoff performers. no offense to harden or pg i love em both especially harden, watching his prime live was something else
Too bad he never used his engineer skills to learn how to be more than a one dimensional player…it made his teams easy to defend and eliminate in the playoffs.
@@TheGamingShogun -- Agree. he's offensively talented BUT ALSO...when have we ever seen a defender play BEHIND on purpose (@21:29)? Only for a few years b/c he would purposely rip through the defenders' arm for a foul. 2. The man has made MORE foul shots than actual shots. 3. Yes, Harden was talented. But he would dribble-dribble-dribble. And never move off ball. It worked in the regular season but he couldn't go deep in the playoffs -- unless it was CP3 who ran the point. It's also why 2014 Spurs basketball was so beautiful b/c of constant motion. It's why Curry was so effective for so long b/c off ball movement. ISO ball is fun for highlights -- appreciative -- but to win and win consistently, Soften gets the hate from me.
Being a die hard harden fan it’s been tough seeing him being disrespected in real time. But every year passes and people realize he should have won more than 1 MVP and probably a title. They went 0-27 straight from 3 and only loss by single digits
They didn’t go 0-27 tho, Scott foster manufactured that stat by erasing 3 harden 3s, GS literally lost the series but had the refs in their pocket book
I can’t stand how much credit curry gets for begging Durant to join the warriors. That team not only kept lebron from winning a ring but also harden. I believe kyrie leaving the cavs was always in the cards but the rockets were going to win in 2018.
Harden was an extremely underrated passer during his prime. Him and capela had the best 2 man game in the league during those prime Houston years. He wasn’t afraid to start his games passing before taking open shots. People complain about his lack of mid range game but if you watch 8 hours of highlights like I have you’d know he definitely took his fair share of mid range buckets.
I will never disrespect harden From 2014-2020 he averaged 31 PPG From 2020-2024 he averaged 10 APG Not including 2016-17 where he averaged 11 If we don’t include rings this man is offensively the best greatest COMBO GAURD of all time
what about all the flopping? what would he be without that? would he avg that most without that ? and dont say it dont matter either cuz that makes the game easier for people to score. nobody flopped as much as james harden and lebron and that heat team..
@@cosmicconciouslol by that logic is crazy nobody would be where they were if you take away free throws 🤣 all great scorers went to the line learn some basketball
@@KrisTaylor-oq5tr No goof troop YOU learn some basketball. OBVIOUSLY all great players are gonna get slightly more foul calls at time, but there is an obvious difference between all of greats getting the calls at times vs FLOPPING ON A CONSISTENT BASIS!!! u clearly dont watch basketball GOOF!!! talkin bout some “learn basketball “.. no team has ever flopped as consistently as those heat teams with lebron and james harden but not that rockets team as a whole.. OBVIOUSLY!! thats how ik u dont watch individual games or u just gloss over that bc u respect blatant exploitation of the game of basketball. stop just stat watching and actually watch basketball!!
@@cosmicconcious can clearly tell that your young last time I check getting to the line takes skill?? what are you talking about and if getting to the line was so easy why don’t everybody get it to it cmon young buck🤦♂️🤣 Jordan avg 10fts one year nobody talks about it never bring up fts as an argument bc it’s a form of basketball and scoring harden avg 4-6 ft a game let’s not forget that’s still 30+ points what u tryna say lol?? Learn sum ball and please never hate on harden because fans like u don’t know shi… harden changed his whole game and literally avg double digits in ASSIST bro just shhhh bro avg 36 one year and said im done scoring and lead the league in assist 🤣🤣casual fan
@@abrahamtorrez._zzz953 the last 3 post seasons in Houston he was great, if you wanna mention his efficiency yeah he was taking 11-12 3 pointers a game so he was usually only shooting 30%, where as his drives and mid range easily 50%+.
@@abrahamtorrez._zzz953 28.6PPG on 41%, 31.6 on 41.3%, and 29.6 on 47.8% is bad? Harden was never bad in the playoffs in his prime. He didn't elevate himself like other stars of his level and even deflated, which is what made him so disappointing. But don't get it wrong - he was overall great in the playoffs those last years in Houston, just not godly like he was in regular season
I think the Harden rockets, who won 3 games in the playoffs against 73win GSW + KD, were stronger than many champion teams. I wanted to see GAME 7 without CP3's injury. And the Warriors with KD are a team that is unfair.
@@yolmiraStill nonetheless it’s the same team plus KD. They were supposed to be unbeatable but went down 2-3 to Houston before CP3 got hurt. I think they only lost 1 playoff game the first year with KD. Next year they’re down 2-3 while having the best team ever assembled and only won Game 7 by 9 points. The same game Houston missed 27 straight threes. If CP3 played. That wouldn’t have happened and Harden and KD would have the same amount of rings
@@I713if KD didn’t get hurt Raptors wouldn’t have won in 2019. Would’ve should’ve could’ve. We act like the Rockets didn’t lose to a KD-less Warriors squad.
@@Dr._is_sleepy Yea the next year. When CP3 had gone through more injuries and we had lost a lot of key contributors like Gerald Green. Trevor Ariza. Ryan Anderson. Nene. Luc Mbah a Moute. Not to mention in 19. It was 2-2 when KD got hurt and Steph and Klay just went crazy them final 2 games but still the roster wasn’t the same. And yea the Warriors would’ve won in 19 without their injuries. The Spurs might’ve beaten them in 17 had Kawhi not got hurt. The Warriors wouldn’t have won in 15 had the Cavs had Kyrie and Love. A lot of Championship teams wouldn’t have won had the better team had their players healthy. The 18 Rockets and 19 Warriors are the most obvious cases
then you don't watch enough ball because that happens to a lot of ppl including his teammate cp3 as well as westbrook. even lebron's finals losses even in 2017 and 18 are used agaisnt him even tho he played the best finals series in history
@@TheGamingShogun If cp3 didn't injure, the Rockets would beat GSW. Even with cp3 injury, GSW still needs refs help to win game 7. You clearly don't watch basketball.
if you will continue the trend of breaking down more all time peaks this off season, itd be sick to see you make a video on prime cp3. Love the content bro, big big fan
Harden developed himself into an all-time great scorer before slowed by injury. His major shortcoming was he didn't know how to progress into being all-time great leader & winner, too. I think he wanted to make that shift in his later Houston era, but he didn't know how to, really. So, like another all-time great _scorer_ KD, he used his cache to *force* his way onto winning teams... he just wasn't/isn't a great leader like MJ, Lebron, Bird, Kobe... Doesn't change that he was one of few best individual scorers ever with MJ and Wilt
Great video I'm a newer fan of the NBA being from Europe and picking up basketball late So its amazing to see breakdowns n looks at historically good players even if they are less than a decade old
This is an excellent video sir. This was thorough and you did not miss a detail. And this is coming from a guy that compliments RUclipsrs 0.0001% of the time. Harden was the best offensive player ever. It was like poetry in motion. Thank you.
Prime Harden is like Roddy Rich of basketball. Insane prime in relatively same years but fell off the popularity contests because people realised they dont like him
the fact that harden lost that quick first stop is what hurting his game right now he isn't the same after that hamstring injury in Brooklyn because of it its a lot harder for him because all of his game was predicated on that first step or the fear defenders had for it
My issue is a dude who can't play offball. That limits your team. I don't care what you say. Kobe Bryant had a pretty good offball game. All of the guys that you think were iso scorers, half of their points came without the ball
He did though when he was on OKC, but Harden at his peak was on offensive engine whether be creating for himself or his teammates just off his shear offensive pull. He was damn near guaranteed to create a score with the ball in his hands then without.
He was impossible to guard because the refs bailed him out. He constantly pushed off when a defender got close, hooked and grabbed, then eventually flopped when he drove. That's not hate, those are simply facts.
I always find it funny when people call Luka “just another harden” as if it’s some big insult 😂 Mavs sucked at the time so I watched a ton of rockets games and never understood the massive harden hate, the elimination game thing is real with harden tho ngl
@allenross3050 yah Trae probably gets similar levels to harden now, I kinda didn’t like him either cuz of the Trae Luka comparisons lol but Trae is an amazing offensive talent too and his defense gets overstated how bad it is at times. Guys that aren’t great at defense typically get more hate too I think that has something to do with it, it’s easier to be the scapegoat when you aren’t clamping up every time down the floor
People hated James Harden so much they RUINED the rules to stop him. People wonder what happened to him? They simply stopped calling OBVIOUS fouls and the opponents simply foul him.
Because he traveled EVERY single time he touched the ball. I’d be “impossible to guard” TOO if I could literally jump sideways AFTER I already took a step back dribble.
Prime Harden was an entire offense. He could give you 35 and 15 every night. He has a top 5 of all time offensive prime! I did not say player because he isn’t even top 20. Imagine if he played defense, wasn’t self-absorbed, cared about his conditioning, and didn’t party every dam night.
I've never heard a teammate or coach say he was lazy, self-absorbed. He's mostly described as a gym rat. Also, it's impossible to play defense consistently when you're responsible for generating over half the team's offensive production with a sky-high usage rate. Look at how Luka "defends" when he has a similar role as prime Harden. They're not machines.
The only that differentiates him and the top top all time guys is the timing of his production. If he put those number up in may, April, June (when legacies are made)…….. 😶 he would be god tier. But instead he chokes or underperforms at best..
hes like an isolation computer. constantly reacting off the defender and going to the best possible move for a bucket/assist. mj kobe wade harden ai top 5 SG’s oat
I’m still in disbelief the amount of years I spent arguing with folks who wouldn’t give harden his flowers, people didn’t even realize the generational superstar they were witnessing
Prime harden is goat scorer. He just is. Ppl forget he carried teams on pure iso. He was averaging 30 and they were losing so he amped it up to around 40 and they were finally winning. He had to work overtime, curry didn't, lebron didn't.
The biggest reason James is/was so good is that he always hunted for the best possible shot Whether he was passing or creating for himself He's an actual computer algorithm searching for the most optimal way to score Biggest gripe on curry is his god awful shot selection Give him James hardens and he might well have goat potential
@@ABSayysO yeah. I've seen curry chuck falling out of bounds more times than I can count Harden has honestly the best shot selection in the NBA (most of the time) ;)
As good as Harden was and kinda still is at what he does, there are limits to what a ball dominant player can do. He was literally the entire offense and his mistakes especially with getting doubled at the 3 costed too much for his team. Players like Kobe, Lebron, Jordan could have games shooting less efficient than Harden but at the end of the day that extra height even if it's only 1 inch it can mean so much at the highest stage it's crazy. Someone like Booker at 6'5 tries to play like a Kobe but no matter what that extra inch that isn't there doesn't allow him to be the defender Kobe was, or even a less athletic 6'6 like Drazen Petrovic. Both those players have similar skillsets to Booker but the ability to play that extra little bit of defense better without costing the energy to do it is everything. There are great 6'5s that play great D they never have the energy to be anything more than a catch and shoot 3 guy or a cutter on offense. Every top scoring 6'5 player in history never had the athleticism or energy to be dominant on both sides of the ball besides Big O who was greatly limited by his era's rules. And as great as Harden was on offense I would say Booker has a better mid range and Harden has better passing ability but they both lack considerably at playing good defense. Booker is a swiss army knife but he can't play lockdown defense and lead his team in scoring at the same time like Kobe could do. Still if Harden stayed in OKC he would have become an offensive machine and Westbrook would have taken a more defensive role and I believe OKC would have at least won a chip if Harden stayed. He wasn't the same shooter before Rockets. Forgive me for being weird but I know if Kobe isn't shooting well I still have confidence that they win. With Harden if he isn't shooting well I almost know it's over same with Booker. I can't say if SGA will be a great defender but I think he has more potential than those 2.
sga is already a great defender. hardens foul baiting skills dont carry over to physical playoff defense where refs dont call cheap fouls as much. and yes defensive game winning plays are needed to win a title, but its usually not coming from below the rim 6'5 guys .
subbed. good content and nuances to these players are so good. can you breakdown steve nash? i dont know why his hang dribble and explode driving left is so effective, he doesnt look as fast or strong as other strong drivers, but its just like the defender is frozen and hes two steps ahead by the time they react.
He was so good the NBA and Scott Foster had to rig a game 7 on national TV because it was him vs the Monstars and was up by double digits with no CP3. Never seen a more rigged game in my life. The hoed him and D'Antoni out of a ring smdh.
Can't lie Harden is my favorite player of the past 15 years aside from Blake Griffin. Might be boring for some but for me it was amazing watching the Beard cook everybody in the gym
Bro I always heard RUclipsrs say harden can’t stay out the strip club 😂but never noticed that he couldn’t stay off the line dude gets a team worth of free throws
17:57 is one of the reasons why The Beard is a GOAT offensive player: That defender stopped him to drive brilliantly two times but Harden just says "fck it, I'm bout to cross yo ass on the third attempt" and he did. Most players would give up, pass the ball or make a desperetion shot but not him. A true definition of unguardable.
Man.. if only harden took care of his body. I mean he's still good but he could've easily surpass D-wade as the 3rd best SG of all time but he went the route of Shaq/Zion conditioning wise
4 steps after the last dribble is a traveling violation, don't care if you call it gather or zero or whatever that's a blatant travel and the NBA allows it and that's one reason he was impossible to guard, and that was not his fault too.. then comes foul baiting and flopping.,on that one season officiating was a bit more strict he looked like he aged 10years..
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Hey Hopp venue! Quick question he’s a better 1 on 1 creator Luka now or prime harden?
@@Bo_live03 i mean he said harden was the best
never use a vape hes only saying this because they paid him 14k to advertise this shit
@@lordcheems-dt7feit isn’t a vape
Harden bag so deep im about 18 mins in and he still haven’t even mentioned his passing/lob throwing ability yet
🔥🔥
Every time you thought it was next he had another counter move for you 🤣🤣🤣
everyone made fun of Harden for only having two moves. yet you let a guy with two moves average 36?
@@AB-sw4kb people who claimed Harden only had 2 moves don't know anything about basketball bud.
@@freestuff1188 it's a simplification but he did have a very predictable offense. stepback 3 or head to rim for floater vs layup vs lob. in his prime he went away from his middy game because it was so efficient to go for stepbacks and drives but it kinda hurt him in playoffs, made it easier to plan around him
Glad the first step was highlighted. A lot of people talk about his step back 3s but prime harden had that plus an unbelievable first step which made him unguardable
His first step wouldn’t fly in FIBA ball because he basically never manages to put the ball down before lifting his pivot foot and literally stepping with it before the ball touches the ground 😂
@@lucashowell7653 good thing he plays in the nba I guess but also a bird can’t fly underwater
@@snupedummy yeah euroleague is basically underwater in this metaphor, they’re fish, and the nba are birds of prey or owls
Wouldn’t really say it was his first step. His first step was no where near Jordan, Kobe or AIs. It was his shiftiness and ball handling
@@dominiquewilson Nah, dude could accelerate from 0 to 100 in a second. The video literally talks about a big portion of his game was his ability to go from fast to slow to fast pace incredibly quick.
James Harden was one of the NBA players that brought me to the beautiful sport of basketball. He is like an engineer trying to figure out a way to simply their craft without sacrificing any resources or adding any costs. Many don't know this but it was reported that prior to the 2019-2020 season Kawhi wanted Harden on the Clippers rather than PG13. That would have been insanity. PS: Great Breakdown Hoop Venue!
well he got his wish just 4 years later
kawhi really wanted 2 of the most inconsistent playoff performers. no offense to harden or pg i love em both especially harden, watching his prime live was something else
@@rickysoup sometimes it doesnt matter... especially if its kawhi leonard lol, but its unfortunate he didn't stay healthy past years
lmfao
Too bad he never used his engineer skills to learn how to be more than a one dimensional player…it made his teams easy to defend and eliminate in the playoffs.
James harden is overhated and under appreciated
I agree
i get the reasons as to why he is hated but i don’t think he’s overhated nor underrated
L mans
i disagree. i can see why he's hated. great player but foulbaiting is always soft and sucks to watch.
@@TheGamingShogun -- Agree. he's offensively talented BUT ALSO...when have we ever seen a defender play BEHIND on purpose (@21:29)? Only for a few years b/c he would purposely rip through the defenders' arm for a foul.
2. The man has made MORE foul shots than actual shots.
3. Yes, Harden was talented. But he would dribble-dribble-dribble. And never move off ball. It worked in the regular season but he couldn't go deep in the playoffs -- unless it was CP3 who ran the point. It's also why 2014 Spurs basketball was so beautiful b/c of constant motion. It's why Curry was so effective for so long b/c off ball movement.
ISO ball is fun for highlights -- appreciative -- but to win and win consistently, Soften gets the hate from me.
Being a die hard harden fan it’s been tough seeing him being disrespected in real time. But every year passes and people realize he should have won more than 1 MVP and probably a title. They went 0-27 straight from 3 and only loss by single digits
fax bro
He definitely should get another MVP in 2019 , not disrespect to Giannis , but obviously the league liked him more.
They didn’t go 0-27 tho, Scott foster manufactured that stat by erasing 3 harden 3s, GS literally lost the series but had the refs in their pocket book
I can’t stand how much credit curry gets for begging Durant to join the warriors. That team not only kept lebron from winning a ring but also harden. I believe kyrie leaving the cavs was always in the cards but the rockets were going to win in 2018.
@@joejett5084curry didn't beg for shit lol. Whatever you smoking on please put it down. Draymond called him up.
Harden was an extremely underrated passer during his prime. Him and capela had the best 2 man game in the league during those prime Houston years. He wasn’t afraid to start his games passing before taking open shots.
People complain about his lack of mid range game but if you watch 8 hours of highlights like I have you’d know he definitely took his fair share of mid range buckets.
Fr, he lead the league in scoring and assists in 16-17
Exactly like pre Mike D'Antoni, Harden actually use his step backs in the midrange. Think him and steph were like the most efficient ones back in 2016
I will never disrespect harden
From 2014-2020 he averaged 31 PPG
From 2020-2024 he averaged 10 APG
Not including 2016-17 where he averaged 11
If we don’t include rings this man is offensively the best greatest COMBO GAURD of all time
IF only he wasn't a playoff disappointer he gets overrated but underrated
what about all the flopping? what would he be without that? would he avg that most without that ? and dont say it dont matter either cuz that makes the game easier for people to score. nobody flopped as much as james harden and lebron and that heat team..
@@cosmicconciouslol by that logic is crazy nobody would be where they were if you take away free throws 🤣 all great scorers went to the line learn some basketball
@@KrisTaylor-oq5tr No goof troop YOU learn some basketball. OBVIOUSLY all great players are gonna get slightly more foul calls at time, but there is an obvious difference between all of greats getting the calls at times vs FLOPPING ON A CONSISTENT BASIS!!! u clearly dont watch basketball GOOF!!! talkin bout some “learn basketball “.. no team has ever flopped as consistently as those heat teams with lebron and james harden but not that rockets team as a whole.. OBVIOUSLY!! thats how ik u dont watch individual games or u just gloss over that bc u respect blatant exploitation of the game of basketball. stop just stat watching and actually watch basketball!!
@@cosmicconcious can clearly tell that your young last time I check getting to the line takes skill?? what are you talking about and if getting to the line was so easy why don’t everybody get it to it cmon young buck🤦♂️🤣 Jordan avg 10fts one year nobody talks about it never bring up fts as an argument bc it’s a form of basketball and scoring harden avg 4-6 ft a game let’s not forget that’s still 30+ points what u tryna say lol?? Learn sum ball and please never hate on harden because fans like u don’t know shi… harden changed his whole game and literally avg double digits in ASSIST bro just shhhh bro avg 36 one year and said im done scoring and lead the league in assist 🤣🤣casual fan
Prime harden was something special man, almost the most broken team of all time 😂
i agree harden was great but the rockets were a great and deep team that wasnt just harden lol and we cant ignore how bad he was in the postseason
He was good in 2018 21019 2020 he was good
yea he was good but what about all that flopping?
@@abrahamtorrez._zzz953 the last 3 post seasons in Houston he was great, if you wanna mention his efficiency yeah he was taking 11-12 3 pointers a game so he was usually only shooting 30%, where as his drives and mid range easily 50%+.
@@abrahamtorrez._zzz953 28.6PPG on 41%, 31.6 on 41.3%, and 29.6 on 47.8% is bad?
Harden was never bad in the playoffs in his prime. He didn't elevate himself like other stars of his level and even deflated, which is what made him so disappointing. But don't get it wrong - he was overall great in the playoffs those last years in Houston, just not godly like he was in regular season
I see hoopvenue breakdown all time players i click
Valid
thank for being a slave puppet
simple as that
I think the Harden rockets, who won 3 games in the playoffs against 73win GSW + KD, were stronger than many champion teams. I wanted to see GAME 7 without CP3's injury. And the Warriors with KD are a team that is unfair.
KD wasn't in the 73-9 win team.
@@yolmiraStill nonetheless it’s the same team plus KD. They were supposed to be unbeatable but went down 2-3 to Houston before CP3 got hurt. I think they only lost 1 playoff game the first year with KD. Next year they’re down 2-3 while having the best team ever assembled and only won Game 7 by 9 points. The same game Houston missed 27 straight threes. If CP3 played. That wouldn’t have happened and Harden and KD would have the same amount of rings
@@I713if KD didn’t get hurt Raptors wouldn’t have won in 2019. Would’ve should’ve could’ve.
We act like the Rockets didn’t lose to a KD-less Warriors squad.
@@Dr._is_sleepy Yea the next year. When CP3 had gone through more injuries and we had lost a lot of key contributors like Gerald Green. Trevor Ariza. Ryan Anderson. Nene. Luc Mbah a Moute. Not to mention in 19. It was 2-2 when KD got hurt and Steph and Klay just went crazy them final 2 games but still the roster wasn’t the same. And yea the Warriors would’ve won in 19 without their injuries. The Spurs might’ve beaten them in 17 had Kawhi not got hurt. The Warriors wouldn’t have won in 15 had the Cavs had Kyrie and Love. A lot of Championship teams wouldn’t have won had the better team had their players healthy. The 18 Rockets and 19 Warriors are the most obvious cases
i wanted to see game 6 without cp3s injury, they really seemed like they could’ve done it in 6 fr not saying they would’ve
Finally more people are starting to appreciate peak Harden
Just wait til they understand how much of a choking loser he was.
@@VVVY777he played against the best team of this generation
@@joshy_bandss*of all time
He didn't do shit in his prime. Wtf is this dummy talking about?!
Not going to lie, He was fuckin the league up to the point where they had to change certain rules. No one gives harden enough credit
Harden is the ONLY player I’ve ever seen not get a ring in his prime because he went up against the GOAT team be held against him smh
then you don't watch enough ball because that happens to a lot of ppl including his teammate cp3 as well as westbrook. even lebron's finals losses even in 2017 and 18 are used agaisnt him even tho he played the best finals series in history
@@TheGamingShogun buddy
He’s not the only one
@@thatoneguy0022 buddy what im right
@@TheGamingShogun If cp3 didn't injure, the Rockets would beat GSW. Even with cp3 injury, GSW still needs refs help to win game 7. You clearly don't watch basketball.
thanks for this video. definitely gonna watch this a lot. very educational break down of james harden’s play.
crazy how james harden alone is the best isolation scoring TEAM of all time by himself
I never realized how athletic James Harden was
He was even more explosive in his younger days!
if you will continue the trend of breaking down more all time peaks this off season, itd be sick to see you make a video on prime cp3. Love the content bro, big big fan
Great suggestion!
@@beeebz1192 LOVE THESE STYLE VIDEOS🙏🏾🙏🏾OFF SEASON U ALWAYS MAKE SOME OF MY FAVE BREAKDOWNS💯🤩🤩
Harden developed himself into an all-time great scorer before slowed by injury. His major shortcoming was he didn't know how to progress into being all-time great leader & winner, too. I think he wanted to make that shift in his later Houston era, but he didn't know how to, really. So, like another all-time great _scorer_ KD, he used his cache to *force* his way onto winning teams... he just wasn't/isn't a great leader like MJ, Lebron, Bird, Kobe... Doesn't change that he was one of few best individual scorers ever with MJ and Wilt
Great video
I'm a newer fan of the NBA being from Europe and picking up basketball late
So its amazing to see breakdowns n looks at historically good players even if they are less than a decade old
Glad you enjoyed!
Insanely detailed and accurate breakdown, well done
Thank you!
Really looking forward to see the next breakdown !!!
Great work as always 👏
Please do more historic player analysis! This was one of my favorite videos you’ve done!
Definitely will. Glad you enjoyed!
This is an excellent video sir. This was thorough and you did not miss a detail. And this is coming from a guy that compliments RUclipsrs 0.0001% of the time. Harden was the best offensive player ever. It was like poetry in motion. Thank you.
James harden is so underrated as a scorer, top 10 scorer all time IMO,
Top 5*
Top 3. Jordan, Kobe, Harden
@@geog8013nah Kobe, kd, mj , harden
what about the flopping?
@@geog8013 you put Dwyane Wade after Harden? Don't be ridiculous
Prime Harden is like Roddy Rich of basketball. Insane prime in relatively same years but fell off the popularity contests because people realised they dont like him
Harden still blessing Houston 🫶🏾
I really used to think this man would be the greatest scorer of all time
the fact that harden lost that quick first stop is what hurting his game right now he isn't the same after that hamstring injury in Brooklyn because of it its a lot harder for him because all of his game was predicated on that first step or the fear defenders had for it
The perfect point guard
3:04 no illegal Draymond screens here. Just pure basketball ability. Not special treatment for global marketing
16:21 proof curry got wide open off dirty screens. These 2 had to earn everything w no talent around them during their prime
U r so so right. overhated and under appreciated😢
Prime James Harden in Houston Rockets ERA UNSTOPPABLE 💯
The title should say James harden, pre James harden rule
My issue is a dude who can't play offball. That limits your team. I don't care what you say. Kobe Bryant had a pretty good offball game. All of the guys that you think were iso scorers, half of their points came without the ball
He did though when he was on OKC, but Harden at his peak was on offensive engine whether be creating for himself or his teammates just off his shear offensive pull. He was damn near guaranteed to create a score with the ball in his hands then without.
He was impossible to guard because the refs bailed him out. He constantly pushed off when a defender got close, hooked and grabbed, then eventually flopped when he drove. That's not hate, those are simply facts.
That's true. Harden always gets the superstar treatment. Look what happens when he's properly officiated in the playoffs...
Thank you 👍🏼
Beautifully made, well done 😊
I always find it funny when people call Luka “just another harden” as if it’s some big insult 😂 Mavs sucked at the time so I watched a ton of rockets games and never understood the massive harden hate, the elimination game thing is real with harden tho ngl
@allenross3050 yah Trae probably gets similar levels to harden now, I kinda didn’t like him either cuz of the Trae Luka comparisons lol but Trae is an amazing offensive talent too and his defense gets overstated how bad it is at times. Guys that aren’t great at defense typically get more hate too I think that has something to do with it, it’s easier to be the scapegoat when you aren’t clamping up every time down the floor
I think I asked for this video like a year ago ilysm for actually making it this is perfect
🔥
The processing and reaction speed is nasty. Would love to see it compared to Kyrie who basically freestyles based on how defenders react
That foul on 3pt attempt stat is crazy
Wonderful video dawg!
Thank you!
People hated James Harden so much they RUINED the rules to stop him. People wonder what happened to him? They simply stopped calling OBVIOUS fouls and the opponents simply foul him.
Yep
Growing up in houston during peak harden was nuts
It was the perfect system for him at the time the spacing with the 3 point shooting and the lob threat heliocentric at It’s best
WAITED ON THIS 1🤩😮💨
Because he traveled EVERY single time he touched the ball. I’d be “impossible to guard” TOO if I could literally jump sideways AFTER I already took a step back dribble.
I would love to see a breakdown of dwayne wade and michael jordan if possible
I love this video. You broke it down like a PhD thesis paper. :D
Glad you enjoyed!
Prime Harden was an entire offense. He could give you 35 and 15 every night. He has a top 5 of all time offensive prime! I did not say player because he isn’t even top 20.
Imagine if he played defense, wasn’t self-absorbed, cared about his conditioning, and didn’t party every dam night.
@@FunNHonesty there’s not twenty players that can raise an teams floor and ceiling like harden did with the rockets
I've never heard a teammate or coach say he was lazy, self-absorbed. He's mostly described as a gym rat. Also, it's impossible to play defense consistently when you're responsible for generating over half the team's offensive production with a sky-high usage rate. Look at how Luka "defends" when he has a similar role as prime Harden. They're not machines.
The only that differentiates him and the top top all time guys is the timing of his production. If he put those number up in may, April, June (when legacies are made)…….. 😶 he would be god tier. But instead he chokes or underperforms at best..
if he didn't care about his conditioning, he wouldn't have been one of the most durable superstars of this generation...
@@sheistyindividualmichael jordan, stop making excuses ..
Just got suggested this video and instantly subbed. Thank you.
That strength and accel/decel has PJF Performance writen all over it
hes like an isolation computer. constantly reacting off the defender and going to the best possible move for a bucket/assist.
mj
kobe
wade
harden
ai
top 5 SG’s oat
this nga said flavored air
Goated vid, definitely gonna come back to this
carmelo and hardens 1st steps were some of the best
I’m still in disbelief the amount of years I spent arguing with folks who wouldn’t give harden his flowers, people didn’t even realize the generational superstar they were witnessing
Prime harden is goat scorer. He just is. Ppl forget he carried teams on pure iso. He was averaging 30 and they were losing so he amped it up to around 40 and they were finally winning. He had to work overtime, curry didn't, lebron didn't.
The biggest reason James is/was so good is that he always hunted for the best possible shot
Whether he was passing or creating for himself
He's an actual computer algorithm searching for the most optimal way to score
Biggest gripe on curry is his god awful shot selection
Give him James hardens and he might well have goat potential
What??😭😭
@@ABSayysO can you not read?
@@Pokepoketpoke lol you pressed. Your last sentence doesnt make sense. Give curry hardens selction and he’d have goat potential?
@@ABSayysO yeah. I've seen curry chuck falling out of bounds more times than I can count
Harden has honestly the best shot selection in the NBA (most of the time) ;)
Bro hoops venue is a STUd! Hahah I love to see it
You cooked here! Also his floater volume went down more so bc of roster, game plan and role on the team(s) imo.
James harden is lowkey underrated on how his game translated and he adapted to different roles I give him his flowers 🫱🏾🫲🏿
As good as Harden was and kinda still is at what he does, there are limits to what a ball dominant player can do. He was literally the entire offense and his mistakes especially with getting doubled at the 3 costed too much for his team. Players like Kobe, Lebron, Jordan could have games shooting less efficient than Harden but at the end of the day that extra height even if it's only 1 inch it can mean so much at the highest stage it's crazy. Someone like Booker at 6'5 tries to play like a Kobe but no matter what that extra inch that isn't there doesn't allow him to be the defender Kobe was, or even a less athletic 6'6 like Drazen Petrovic. Both those players have similar skillsets to Booker but the ability to play that extra little bit of defense better without costing the energy to do it is everything. There are great 6'5s that play great D they never have the energy to be anything more than a catch and shoot 3 guy or a cutter on offense. Every top scoring 6'5 player in history never had the athleticism or energy to be dominant on both sides of the ball besides Big O who was greatly limited by his era's rules. And as great as Harden was on offense I would say Booker has a better mid range and Harden has better passing ability but they both lack considerably at playing good defense. Booker is a swiss army knife but he can't play lockdown defense and lead his team in scoring at the same time like Kobe could do. Still if Harden stayed in OKC he would have become an offensive machine and Westbrook would have taken a more defensive role and I believe OKC would have at least won a chip if Harden stayed. He wasn't the same shooter before Rockets.
Forgive me for being weird but I know if Kobe isn't shooting well I still have confidence that they win. With Harden if he isn't shooting well I almost know it's over same with Booker. I can't say if SGA will be a great defender but I think he has more potential than those 2.
Not reading all that but that’s crazy
sga is already a great defender. hardens foul baiting skills dont carry over to physical playoff defense where refs dont call cheap fouls as much. and yes defensive game winning plays are needed to win a title, but its usually not coming from below the rim 6'5 guys .
Imagine Wemby with this level of detail and acuity
Great vid, feel like the Harden discourse has swung too far. All time player with elite elite skill and processing speed
subbed. good content and nuances to these players are so good. can you breakdown steve nash? i dont know why his hang dribble and explode driving left is so effective, he doesnt look as fast or strong as other strong drivers, but its just like the defender is frozen and hes two steps ahead by the time they react.
The only thing that could stop prime James Harden is the playoffs
Harden in Houston was good times. If the Warriors wasn't around... no way in hell the Rockets didn't come out the Harden era with at least 2 rings.
He was so good the NBA and Scott Foster had to rig a game 7 on national TV because it was him vs the Monstars and was up by double digits with no CP3. Never seen a more rigged game in my life. The hoed him and D'Antoni out of a ring smdh.
True
Can't lie Harden is my favorite player of the past 15 years aside from Blake Griffin. Might be boring for some but for me it was amazing watching the Beard cook everybody in the gym
Bro I always heard RUclipsrs say harden can’t stay out the strip club 😂but never noticed that he couldn’t stay off the line dude gets a team worth of free throws
Can you make a video on how Russell Westbrook will fit in Denver that's the video I thought you would've made by now
Excellent study 📖 ! 🏀
17:57 is one of the reasons why The Beard is a GOAT offensive player: That defender stopped him to drive brilliantly two times but Harden just says "fck it, I'm bout to cross yo ass on the third attempt" and he did. Most players would give up, pass the ball or make a desperetion shot but not him. A true definition of unguardable.
Could you breakdown France vs USA and USA vs serbia and feel like when he played with machale that he had a mid range and a post up game
Imagine if kd, Russ and harden stayed together for just a couple more years 😔
He was a generational slasher in college
Legendary in Houston lol he always was in the playoffs witch is crazy
One of the deepest and definitively most unique bags of all time.
One of the greatest ever! The best left hand nba player to ever touch a rock
Can you do a video on breaking down your top best scorers in the NBA?
Still my favorite player to watch pple need to start appreciate his greatness and stop just pointing out his flaws
Thank you, good video from
As a kid lebron was the first person i seen using jab steps and it helped
YESSSSSSS FINALLY JAMES HARDEN APPRECIATION
People were scared of his flopping techniques on drives. Flopping, traveling, lazy defense, and being a volume shooter will be his legacy
Awesome breakdown
Elite shooting + Elite handles + Elite playmaking + God-tier foul-baiting was just an unstoppable combination. 🤷
If only he had any interest in doing anything without the ball in his hands
James harden prime is still here, but a loot of rule changes.. make him less efficient... Like drawing fouls etc
Man.. if only harden took care of his body. I mean he's still good but he could've easily surpass D-wade as the 3rd best SG of all time but he went the route of Shaq/Zion conditioning wise
Truth
Great vid
He is definitely an outstanding score and my favorite basekball player in The NBA
Even retired nba defensive players helping other teams on how they will guard him
Most star caliber guards have the same abilities he’s hard to guard because he’s a lefty
Harden got the whole league doing step backs
He traveled all the time, and people think he’s a great
This makes the Lebron 2020 even more impressive.
flavored air is the most funniest shit i’ve even seen☠️
4 steps after the last dribble is a traveling violation, don't care if you call it gather or zero or whatever that's a blatant travel and the NBA allows it and that's one reason he was impossible to guard, and that was not his fault too.. then comes foul baiting and flopping.,on that one season officiating was a bit more strict he looked like he aged 10years..