Evan Fournier names James Harden as toughest player he ever had to guard

Former NBA journeyman Evan Fournier is no longer in the league and has transitioned to playing overseas ball.

However, he put together a relatively long career in the NBA, which gave him a chance to go up against some of the top players in the world.

And after years of basketball experience, he sees star guard James Harden as the toughest cover of his career.

Harden had some incredible performances against Fournier’s teams over the years, including a 60-point game in the 2017-18 season and 54-point game in the 2019-20 season.

In his prime with the Houston Rockets, Harden was one of the best scorers in NBA history. He won three straight scoring titles and even had a season in which he averaged 36.1 points per contest. He also won an MVP award during that three-season run of scoring crowns.

What made a prime Harden even tougher to guard was the fact that in addition to being a lethal scorer, he was capable of picking a defense apart with his playmaking. The season before he won his first scoring title, he averaged 11.2 assists per game, and in the three seasons where he won his scoring titles, he was still able to average 7.9 assists per game.

Harden’s game has changed as he has aged, but he still remains one of the top guards in the NBA and earned an All-NBA selection this past season. He finished the campaign with averages of 22.8 points, 8.7 assists and 5.8 rebounds per game.

Not everyone is a huge fan of the way Harden scores, which often involves getting to the line by whatever means necessary, but his career is clearly respected by many, and it seems like he left an impression on Fournier when they were both in the league together.

As Fournier plays overseas, Harden is still trying to win a ring in the NBA and take advantage of whatever time he has left in the league. He is 35 years old and recently agreed to stay with the Los Angeles Clippers. He will look to help them get over the hump this coming season, regardless of the odds.