Ooh now THAT's an interesting one, unlike the Jordan question Career avg: Durant 27.0, Harden 24.3. Durant has been more even year to year, while Harden started slower and has been more prolific in recent years. Career FG%: Durant 49.3%, Harden 44.3% Career 3PT%: Durant 38.1%, Harden 36.5% Career eFG% Durant 54.2%, Harden 52.5% Biggest single season: Durant 32.0 ppg on 50.3% FG% and 56% eFG%, Harden 36.1 ppg on 44.2 FG% and 54.1 eFG% Obviously I don't have the resources to get into Morey's level of number crunching, but based on what is readily available on basketball reference, I'd have to give the edge to Durant over the course of their careers.
Just for the BleacherReport caliber fans around that completely dismiss this as a discussion because "FREE THROWS": Jordan tended to have a usage around 32 during his peak scoring years of 86-93 (with a peak of 38 one year). His FT-USG ratio was 8.5/32 = .266. Harden's in 2018-2019 was 11/40.5 = .271. That's quite close based on usage (and Harden's usage is legendary. Over 40 is extremely rare. Maybe it's not all gimmicks but just being an absolute workhorse is part of it?) During Jordan's top scoring campaign (3,041 points - WOW) he scored 36 from 3. Harden's (2,818 points) he scored 1,134 from 3. LOL. (Clearly the 3-ball is the reason Harden is in the conversation. Don't get me started how how underrated he is in that regard vs everyone's hero-diva Steph Curry. PS Did modern analytics help people learn that 3>2?) But anyway let's stay on free throws. Based on the way they both got their points during their peak scoring years, 27% of BOTH Jordan's and Harden's points came from free throws. OMG HARDEN IS SUCH A GIMMICKY PLAYER! Maybe tap the brakes for just a second. Harden and Jordan got the same % of points from the field. Harden just plays a stark outside-inside game whereas Jordan was extremely versatile. I personally believe Jordan was the GOAT. I just get tired of all of the brainless reactionary crap everywhere. If analytics just magically made everyone in 2019 better than everyone in 1999, why isn't Klay Thompson leaving Reggie Miller in the dust? Why isn't Damian Lillard destroying Allen Iverson? Harden is still a legendary player, era-independent.
Good point. I didn't do all the math you did, but over their peak five year scoring stretches (1986-87 through 1990-91 for Jordan and 2014-15 through 2018-19 for Harden), the free throw attempts per game are 10.5 for Harden and 9.8 for Jordan. There's an edge there, sure, but nothing like what some would have you believe.
Thank you to all of the clutchfans.net for showing basketball knowledge and not homer knowledge. We're talking about the G.O.A.T. who never lost in the NBA finals. Michael Jordan would lock Harden up on D and there is no way Jordan wouldn't drop 60 on Harden in today's game. I LOVE THE ROCKETS, but love common sense more!
I don't know about getting 60 - that's pretty aggressive. But I'd expect most of Jordan's points in that matchup to come by driving past Harden and getting inside.
A combination of dunks (4-8pts), layups (3-6pts), mid range (12-24pts), free throws (8-8pts), and maybe 4 or 5 threes (5-15pts)...
Harden in the regular season. Gets buckets easy. Without breaking a sweat. Mike worked for every bucket. Made the game harder than it had to be at times. Playoffs, defense honed-in, refs swallowing their whistles, MJ everytime. EZ$
That's fair argument, I think. Because, there are quite few players who had more offensive moves than MJ, like Kobe, Melo, Bird, Pistol Pete, Dream, Kyrie, and a few others who had more go-to basketball shots and moves. MJ's combination of agility, speed, lift, and athleticism trumps everyone above. Throw in his killer instinct. He's the greatest. Though, Harden has a toy chest full of basketball moves and has maximized point guard ability. Which gives him a few advantages.
With Russell Westbrook Killer Instinct supporting James Harden, This will be James Harden Killer Instinct Coming Out this Playoffs.
Please stop comparing players in this era to players in Jordan's era. That said, Jordan is the GOAT, period.
No you weren’t alive when MJ was playing @Reeko @Clutch @Jontro This a troll. This is a not a rockets fan not happy with harden. It’s swvyguy
So he's a Rocket fan "not happy with Harden". How does that make him a troll? A troll posts insincerely to sow discord on purpose. If these are his genuine sentiments, how does that make him a troll?
