We all know just how great Harden is and just how unstoppable he can be on any given night. He has maintained a very high level of excellence for years now, while also refining the way he plays to fit beautifully in MDA's system. He is the type of elite generational player that can enforce his will at any time and I believe he has what it takes to be a tremendous leader and carry Houston to a title in the very near future. But how does James Harden stack up against other elite players from past and current generations? I did some simple research based on Harden's stats up until the end of the season in which he turned 27 (this season) and compared it to some of the greats up until the year of their 27th birthday as well. I felt that this is more accurate than just comparing players based on a certain number of years in the league, as some players came into the league much sooner than the others. I did this out of pure curiosity and I am not a stats junkie, nor did I analyze these stats in much depth. There is room for error, as obviously each guy turned 27 at different times of the calendar year. Keep in mind that it is not accurate to simply take the average of the players' season averages...the numbers below are based on total games played for all seasons up until each player's 27th birthday. Also, I extrapolated Harden's statistics for the remainder of the season based on his current averages. Note: This does not include playoff stats. I did not include any typical "big men" in this list, but decided to keep it short and simple. Here is how Harden compares to four other elite scorers who also rack up the rebounds and assists: These numbers are very impressive, considering Harden spent the first three years of his career as a bench player, starting only 7 games during that time and only averaging roughly 27mpg. Also note just how close the beard is to Kobe in terms of scoring average to this point in their careers. Now that James is nearing the prime of his career, I fully expect each of these averages to improve. We have a phenomenal basketball talent on our team and we should all be soaking up every minute that number 13 is on the floor in Rockets Red. =)
I'm so happy we stole him from OKC. He's still improving, scary to think what his ceiling will be. Also glad his game doesn't rely on brute strength/speed/quickness, theoretically should keep him in the league longer. Hope he retires a Rocket.
Eh, Harden hits the deck more than anyone in the league. Dwade used to be that guy, then his body broke down... Hopefully Harden continues to be the iron man he is today.
Harden's numbers since he's been a Rocket are ridiculous. He's averaged 27 points, 6 rebounds, and 7.5 assists as a Rocket he's missed just 14 games in 5 seasons with Houston
Nice. We are so lucky to have this guy on our team. Leading the NBA in assists right now. That's crazy. We could be sitting in hopeless mediocrity right now given Les claims to be against tanking. Instead we are re-tooled and can create max cap space easily this summer to add to the MVP after finishing 3rd in the NBA. These next 2-3 years are so important. Harden's game will not, imo, transition well into his 30's unless he becomes a much better 3pt shooter. Also, going to the line 10 times a game for 4-5 years has never been sustainable. We need to take advantage of this window.
He's the heir apparent to Kobe. Better than anyone the Rockets have had since Hakeem. We really are fortunate.
Ok comparison for casual fans. Could have included KD as well. For die hard fans I think we know by now the limitations of just ppg, apg, rpg. Need to see stuff like stats per minute/possession, ts%, usage rate. Also completely ignores defense where Harden AND Russ are way behind the other 3.
He definitely needs a MVP and a ring to put him in the very upper echelon of players when all is said and done. He is looking good for both.