{"id":31466,"date":"2020-06-25T08:00:05","date_gmt":"2020-06-25T12:00:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonprobasketball.com\/?p=31466"},"modified":"2020-06-23T11:59:24","modified_gmt":"2020-06-23T15:59:24","slug":"top-30-nba-players-james-harden","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2020\/06\/25\/top-30-nba-players-james-harden\/","title":{"rendered":"Last Word on Pro Basketball\u2019s Top 30 NBA Players: James Harden"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Although ranking the top 30 NBA players in today\u2019s game is an incredibly difficult task, The Last Word on Pro Basketball staff has taken it on. Coming in at number 6 in the countdown is the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprobasketball.com\/nba-teams\/houston-rockets\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Houston Rockets<\/a>\u00a0guard <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/h\/hardeja01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">James Harden<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n<h2><strong>Top 30 NBA Players<\/strong><\/h2>\n<h3><strong>Number 6 \u2013 James Harden<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>James Harden was drafted third in the 2009 NBA Draft. In the 2009-10 NBA season, Harden shot efficiently at the three-point line with a 37.5 shooting percentage. This is the fourth highest three-point shooting percentage in NBA history for a player under the age of 21. That season included having seven straight 3-point field goals over two games, which is the most consecutive threes since Rockets guard <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/d\/dickemi01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Michael Dickerson<\/a><\/strong> did it in 1999.<\/p>\n<p>Furthermore, against the Phoenix Suns in April 2012, Harden had an amazing performance scoring 40 points. This was the most points scored by a bench player since <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/b\/beaubro01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Rodrigue Beaubois<\/strong><\/a> did it in March 2010.<\/p>\n<p>Harden was part of the young and talented Thunder team that had\u00a0<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/i\/ibakase01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Serge Ibaka<\/a><\/strong>, <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/d\/duranke01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Kevin Durant<\/a><\/strong>, and <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/w\/westbru01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Russell Westbrook<\/a><\/strong>. Unfortunately, for Harden and the Thunder, his team would lose in five games to the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprobasketball.com\/nba-teams\/miami-heat\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Miami Heat<\/a> in the 2012 NBA Finals. This is the only NBA Finals appearance that Harden has made in his professional career.<\/p>\n<p>However, Harden would be part of a blockbuster deal 2012 NBA offseason. According to ESPN, Harden felt he was given too little time to confirm his contract with the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprobasketball.com\/nba-teams\/oklahoma-city-thunder\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Oklahoma City Thunder<\/a>. And according to Brian Windhorst of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com\/nba\/truehoop\/miamiheat\/story\/_\/id\/8564644\/miami-heat-dwyane-wade-finds-oklahoma-city-thunder-james-harden-deal-shocking\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">ESPN.com<\/a>, Harden was offered a four-year contract extension worth between $52 to $55 million. He was then later traded from the Thunder to the Rockets.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Houston Rockets Press Conference for James Harden\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/E42ademC-nE?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Harden would make his name known in Houston. He made several NBA All-Star appearances. This is in sharp contrast to his time with the Thunder, where he was a bench player behind Westbrook and Durant. Harden would lead the Rockets to two Western Conference Finals appearances, where they lost to the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprobasketball.com\/nba-teams\/golden-state-warriors\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Golden State Warriors<\/a>. This included being only one game away from going to the 2017 NBA Finals.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Strengths<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Harden is one of the most dynamic scorers and offensive players the NBA has ever seen. He has averaged at least 25 points per game since the 2012-13 NBA season. He can also pass and rebound the ball. For example, in the 2019-20 NBA season, he averaged 34.4 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 7.4 assists per game.<\/p>\n<p>His free throw shooting percentage is 86.1 percent this season and he has a three-point shooting percentage of 35.2 percent this year. Lastly, he has a relatively good field goal percentage of 43.5 percent. He can also steal and block the basketball on the defensive end. In the 2019-20 NBA season, he is averaging 1.7 steals and a career-high 0.9 blocks per game.<\/p>\n<p>Furthermore, at least one Rocket player talks about how good of a leader Harden is. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/m\/mclembe01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Ben McLemore<\/strong><\/a>, the reserve guard of the Rockets explains, according to Ben DuBose of <a href=\"https:\/\/rocketswire.usatoday.com\/2019\/11\/25\/ben-mclemore-explains-the-value-of-james-harden-as-a-leader\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Rockets Wire<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSucceeding in this league takes a lot more than talent and a good work ethic. It takes leadership. Someone to step up and selflessly devote time and energy in your progression. As good as James is on the court, he\u2019s just as good at inspiring and bettering those around him. Forever grateful for my brother looking out for me and helping me achieve what I know I can. Foot on the gas, no stopping now\u2026 Salute, brother!\u201d said McLemore.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Weaknesses<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Like many players in the NBA, Harden has a few weaknesses. The weakest part of Harden\u2019s game is his defense. According to Colin Ward-Henninger of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbssports.com\/nba\/news\/rockets-james-harden-is-one-of-the-nbas-best-defenders-statistically-but-should-we-trust-the-numbers\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">CBS Sports<\/a>, he ranks second in the NBA allowing 0.727 points per possession as a primary defender. However, sometimes he does not close out three-point shooters.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"James Harden bad closeouts\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/srCBSzUtpZ8?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Furthermore, Ward-Henninger&#8217;s article also stated Harden is normally defending the worst offensive player of the other team. Even though he greatly improved his defense, it is still a weakness compared to other elite players in the NBA.<\/p>\n<p>Former Rockets head coach Jeff Bzdelik is the architect of the Rockets\u2019 switch-heavy defense. Even with Bzdelik moving on, the principles still apply with the Harden. Harden is not a two-way player like other players higher on this list.<\/p>\n<p>The last weakness of Harden has been not being able to lead his Rockets to an NBA championship. This was clearly shown in the 2017 Western Conference Finals against the Warriors. The Rockets were winning that series 3-2. However, <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/p\/paulch01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Chris Paul<\/a><\/strong> got injured at the end of game 5. As a result, the Rockets did not reach the NBA Finals. Harden did have 32 points in game 7 but was only 2\/13 from the three-point line.<\/p>\n<p>According to <a href=\"https:\/\/pickinsplinters.com\/2020\/05\/14\/breaking-down-james-hardens-postseason-inefficiency\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">John Mitchell Ikanje<\/a>, Harden\u2019s playoff stats were lower than Harden\u2019s season stats five out of seven times. However, he still can perform at a high-level and ranks ninth among active players with 22.9 points per game. Even still, there are critics who believe Harden cannot step up in big situations. And with some players on this list already winning NBA Championships, it was hard for Harden to be ranked any higher.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>James Harden Career Accolades<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Harden has numerous accolades since entering the league in 2009. His first two accolades came with the Thunder. He was named part of the NBA All-Rookie Second Team in 2010. He was then also awarded the NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award with the Thunder.<\/p>\n<p>Then with the Rockets, he would make an immediate impact. He was part of the All-NBA Third Team in 2013. Harden made his first NBA All-Star Game in 2013, the first of eight consecutive All-Star appearances. He was part of five All-NBA First Teams from 2014-19 and was the assist leader in 2017. Lastly, he was the NBA scoring champion two times in his career (2018 and 2019) and was the NBA Most Valuable Player in 2018.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">The 2017-2018 <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/KiaMVP?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#KiaMVP<\/a> is\u2026 <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/JHarden13?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@JHarden13<\/a>! <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/NBAAwards?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#NBAAwards<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/7fw8xsx7pu\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/7fw8xsx7pu<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; NBA (@NBA) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/NBA\/status\/1011443166241796097?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">June 26, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>James Harden is also on his way to becoming a scoring champion in the 2019-20 NBA season. According to Anthony Duckett of <a href=\"https:\/\/spacecityscoop.com\/2020\/06\/11\/colin-cowherd-houston-rockets-james-harden-legacy\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">FanSided<\/a>, this would make Harden just the ninth player in NBA history to accomplish that feat.<\/p>\n<p>He also has a 99.90 percent chance to make the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/leaders\/hof_prob.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">basketball reference<\/a>. He is tied with current Rockets teammate Westbrook. Harden also has the highest chance to make the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame from the 2009 NBA draft class.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Last Word on Pro Basketball Top 30 NBA Players Ballots<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>We believe in full transparency in the top 30 NBA player rankings so we are going to disclose the ballots of our player rankings and where each contributor had each player ranked.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprobasketball.com\/author\/tylermarling\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Tyler Marling<\/a> \u2013 Site Manager \u2013 6th<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprobasketball.com\/author\/chasegage\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Chase Gage<\/a> \u2013 Managing Editor \u2013 6th<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprobasketball.com\/author\/david-knight\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">David Knight<\/a> \u2013 Marketing Manager \u2013 7th<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprobasketball.com\/author\/zachkircher\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Zach Kircher<\/a> \u2013 Associate Editor \u2013 7th<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprobasketball.com\/author\/matthewwaldman\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Matthew Waldman<\/a> \u2013 Associate Editor \u2013 7th<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprobasketball.com\/author\/davidjackson2018\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">David Ward<\/a> \u2013 Associate Editor \u2013 8th<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprobasketball.com\/author\/avinashchauhan\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Avinash Chauhan<\/a> \u2013 Contributor \u2013 5th<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprobasketball.com\/author\/adamzigner\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Adam Zigner<\/a> \u2013 Contributor \u2013 6th<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprobasketball.com\/author\/albertdadson\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Albert Dadson<\/a> \u2013 Contributor \u2013 4th<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprobasketball.com\/author\/thomasguest\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Dylan Guest<\/a> \u2013 Contributor \u2013 4th<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprobasketball.com\/author\/raheemb\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Raheem Bashir<\/a> \u2013 Contributor \u2013 6th<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprobasketball.com\/author\/natelavine\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Nathan Levine<\/a> \u2013 Contributor \u2013 6th<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprobasketball.com\/author\/billhuan\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Bill Huan<\/a> \u2013 Contributor \u2013 6th<\/p>\n<p>Main Photo<br \/>\n<a id=\"JEngb9WJSKN-z_E4_Q-IUg\" class=\"gie-single\" style=\"color: #a7a7a7; text-decoration: none; font-weight: normal !important; border: none; display: inline-block;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/592283952\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><script>window.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'JEngb9WJSKN-z_E4_Q-IUg',sig:'qV_K_aE4sq9wuwuL3Ige_GLnfUgr2hiZ3np3UeymCkk=',w:'594px',h:'385px',items:'592283952',caption: true ,tld:'com',is360: false })});<\/script><script src='\/\/embed-cdn.gettyimages.com\/widgets.js' charset='utf-8' async><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Although ranking the top 30 NBA players in today\u2019s game is an incredibly difficult task, The Last Word on Pro Basketball staff has taken it on. Coming in at number 6 in the countdown is the Houston Rockets\u00a0guard James Harden. Top 30 NBA Players Number 6 \u2013 James Harden James Harden was drafted third in [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3104,"featured_media":31625,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[31,1608,62],"tags":[3714,229,333,444,69,3692,53,3689],"class_list":["post-31466","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-rockets","category-basketball","category-nba","tag-ben-mclemore","tag-chris-paul","tag-houston-rockets","tag-james-harden","tag-kevin-durant","tag-last-word-on-pro-basketballs-top-30-nba-players","tag-russell-westbrook","tag-top-30-nba-players"],"modified_by":"Zach Kircher","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31466","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3104"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31466"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31466\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31625"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31466"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31466"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31466"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}