Los Angeles Clippers star guard James Harden has received plenty of criticism over the course of his NBA career. For all the individual accolades he has (from numerous All-Star and All-NBA nods to an MVP award), he has yet to win an NBA title and has played in just one NBA Finals.
Some have even linked Harden’s lack of a championship to his conditioning and work ethic in recent years. He has his fair share of critics, but he said that he doesn’t let the flak get to him. However, he also said that folks around him get bothered by the negative comments and are right to feel that way.
“Somebody like myself, it don’t bother me because you don’t get to this point and this elite of basketball and statistically and all this s— without putting the work in,” Harden said. “You can’t even think about getting this far without putting the work in or having a crazy work ethic. So, that part doesn’t bother me ’cause I’m the one that’s putting the work in.
“But it bothers the people that are around me that hears and listens to the negative comments and things like that, which they should be. They should be bothered ’cause they see what the hell is going on. They see how hard I work.
“And 16 years, still being an All-Star, All-NBA team, you know what I mean? They should feel that way, so I think sooner or later, people will start understanding and recognizing how hard I actually did work and what I was able to accomplish throughout my career. So, for now, just let ’em keep talking, and hopefully they can change the narrative sooner or later.”
The closest Harden has gotten to an NBA title was early on in his pro career when he served as a stellar sixth man for an Oklahoma City Thunder team led by a young Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. The Thunder reached the 2012 NBA Finals, and Harden averaged 16.3 points, 5.1 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game across 20 bench appearances in the 2012 NBA Playoffs.
As a top option on a team, the farthest Harden has led a squad to is the Western Conference Finals, which has happened a couple of times. Perhaps most notably, his Houston Rockets won 65 games in the 2017-18 regular season and then took a stacked Golden State Warriors squad to seven games in the conference finals.
Houston might have reached the NBA Finals that year if not for poor injury luck. Point guard Chris Paul was sidelined for Games 6 and 7, and Houston lost Game 7 by only nine points without him.
But maybe Harden will finally win an NBA title as a member of the Clippers this year. Los Angeles is wrapping up the regular season on a high note, as the Clippers have won their last seven games played. Additionally, the Clippers’ record of 9-1 over their past 10 contests is the best mark in the NBA in that span.
Harden hopefully will have a healthy two-way star to help him in his title pursuit. Forward Kawhi Leonard has been a relatively consistent presence in the Clippers’ lineup of late and is on the heels of a 28-point outing in Los Angeles’ win over the Sacramento Kings on Friday.
