Always depending on who you'd call a superstar. There is a case to be made, that only LeBron and Durant are true superstars today - they are a class above the rest. You could argue that Bryant, Dirk, Duncan and Wade are all superstars, but more for what they have done and not so much for what they are today. How many superstars are in the league? Where do you draw the line? Harden was first team all NBA - a little questionable here, but he definetly deserves to be in the discussion. In my mind he probably is one step away from being a superstar. He needs to mature, play a little more defense and preserve some energy for the playoffs and make some noise there. He definetly has the talent and he definetly is right on the doorstep of superstardom. And he definetly is the best SG in the NBA.
Until he's your main man who takes the team out of the first round, what makes him better than even T-Mac? Is T-Mac, with the benefit of hindsight, superstar? It may not be fair, but we're all judged by our successes and failures. To me, "superstar" is a title reserved for game changers. Someone that takes their team to the finals: - MJ - Drexler - Barkley - Dream - Ewing - Shaq - Duncan - AI - LBJ - Kobe - Dwight (and I think he's by far the weakest of this bunch) - Dirk I guess you can also throw Payton/Kemp and Malone/Stockton in there. And yes, I'm not holding MJ/Pippen against MJ like I do against the Sonics and Jazz pairs (and it also doesn't help their cause in my book that they happened to be our mortal enemies in the 90's). With apologies to Kidd, Billups, The Flash + zebras, KG, The Truth, etc. It's not entirely clear to me that Harden is at that level even.
Barely made allstar team, shot horrible last season , below 30% on 3pt shots, laughable defense, offense consist of 3pt drive left or step back mid only, gets embarrassed by other shooting guards, lack of effort when he doesn't get to shoot the all enough etc etc How does a player shoot a garbage % all season and yet clutch fans still labels him a "superstar"! Lance Stephenson outplayed him and is a better defender and shot creator
One problem I have with the LBJ/Durant only superstars, that leaves you with Shaq and Duncan as the only superstars of the first half of last decade and only LBJ for the 2nd half.
All because player x doesn't take their teams to finals, doesn't mean they are not superstars. In order for a team to make it to the finals, you have to have a balanced team effort, great coaching and sometimes a little luck. Some of these players will not make it that far because of many factors to the game. Bad coaching, terrible supporting cast or flat out bad luck ( Tracy McGrady syndrome).
Kobe would definetly be on that list as well. Wade and Dirk maybe for what they did in their teams title runs as the only real weapon. But I agree, that list would be very small and it's not how I would define a superstar. I would call players that are a real bargain at the max (Melo, Howard, Bosh max numbers) a superstar. Players that you wouldn't even think about if they are worth the max. CP3 comes to mind, Howard as well - and at his max definetly Harden. At Melos max, Harden is not there yet, but he is close.
Bosh...!!! If Bosh was a super star _ LeBron would have stayed in Miami. That's not the same Bosh that was in Toronto. He is not an elite player.
Are you even trying anymore? Trolling takes more than throwing out ridiculous statements with zero factual evidence. I'd say Harden's defense is more effective than your trolling.
The thing with that is Kobe, Wade, Dirk are better at a lower level of player (Kobe was never really a truly dominant player, but his longevity has been amazing, plus he's a laker so the media have a vested interest). The volume and efficiency of LBJ and Durant is so ridiculously daunting, it dwarves those other guys. Although I'm not the biggest fan of compositve box score stats, to give an example of what I mean for comparative reasons, Kobe's highest ws/48 is .224, Harden's is .230 and last year was .221, now I look at Durant and I'm staring down .295 and now i go look at Bron and there's .322, Shaq's got .285 and Duncan has 0.257 (but they also have the i'm big and hence more important to defense bonus), maybe Chris Paul for his 2 best years and Dwight's best Orlando year, but I feel like I'm pitching solo the nba type years.
I am not saying Bosh is a superstar - I am saying if a player without a question deserves the kind of money that a Melo or Bosh is getting, they are. There are major questions about Bosh and some about Melo in that regard.
If James can figure out how to display the sort of passion and fiery intensity he showed in that March 7th Pacers game that spawned his Super Saiyan gif in most, if not all, of his games, then he'll go to unbelievable heights. That game was like nothing else. It's not so much that he scored 28 points, and we won the game. It's that he was fired up in all aspects of his game and SHOWED it (crazy eyes) and THAT was positively infectious to his teammates who played even better as a result. We hadn't seen that before from him. That March 7th Harden was a Harden that not only crushed his opponents but struck fear in them. THAT Harden was a classic NBA superstar undeniably, and if he could do it consistently, he'd earn the right to have that moniker stick.
Kobe never a truly dominant player? 2x finals MVP, league MVP, 11x All NBA first team, 9x All NBA defensive first team.
Kobe never affected winning as much as those 4 have (Lebron, Durant, Shaq, Duncan), it is what it is.
Kobe is ranked in the top 5 by his peers, players that played the game before and every expert that covers the game. I am not a big fan but he is one of the best to play this game. Harden has a lot work ahead of him to get to that level no matter what the stats show big timer. So does Durant.
God bless anyone who thinks Harden is a superstar. Crap defense and postseason performer. He can reach superstar status, but those attributes need to improve first. Also, huge LOL @ anyone who keeps using "best at his position" to justify their argument. The SG is weak. Such line of thinking is as foolish as "Duncan greatest PF".
