Historical context of James Harden's season so far

I don't think anyone is categorizing him as an all-time great with the likes of Jordan, Drexler, etc. The stats the OP chose are those that impact the game directly like PPG, RPG, APG, etc. Not hypothetical stats like per 48mpg etc. I think it's kind of a neat comparison and an outlook on the kind of year Harden is having, but I don't think anyone here is fooled with a "magic trick" to think hes near the player of those legends compared. Impressive nonetheless.

 

Are you sure?
OP was looking at historical context of James Harden's season so far and found only 6 all time greats had better averages. Not categozing in one way or another?
Someone else has mentioned that "we're talking about all-time greats".

 

Harden is the ONLY left handed player ever to have those #'s!

He may go down as the best left handed 2 guard in the league ever!

 

T-Mac was probably one of the top 10 most physically gifted players in NBA history. That year is one of the greatest single season performances in NBA history.

 

The guy is averaging:

26 points a game

5 rebounds

5 assists

2 steals

He is only taking 17 shots a game and is going to the line 10 times a game.

He is shooting 45% from the floor even with so many 3's.

He is only getting 2 fouls a game and as a WS/% of nearly .200 per 48.

LOF can try and down play what Harden has done, but the facts are that he has been nothing short of incredible through the first quarter of the season. His numbers are trending toward last years concerning efficiency and shooting, eventhough his usage rate and minutes are way up. No one expected that..... he is simply a top 10 player in the NBA right now, and trending higher.

 

L. James did it 3 times

 

The thing about Tmac was that he has so much length over everyone and his athleticism was out of this world. He was a long 6'8 and has the quickest first step ever. Along with all the talents he had, he was nearly unstoppable.

But with Harden, who's more consistent than Tmac and has the type of game where he doesn't rely on his athleticism as much. Tmac in his prime was one of the top players in the league. Both players have a different game from one another. Tmac was a great regular season player which is why he never got out of the first round given his talent that he had. Harden was one of the biggest factor the Thunders got to the Finals and IMO, Harden is more clutch...

But both players are different and they are great in their own sense of play. Tmac was a great player but because of his playoffs short-comings, it really plague his career and overshadows is accomplishment.

 

I dont think "LOF" downplay Harden we just tend to be optimistic about Lin. Harden game is so crazy I cant replicate it on 2k13 lol. He is playing out of his mind right now and will be a superstar in a few years if he can avoid injuries. What Harden seems to have is other gears that Lin does not have yet. Lin seems to have to operate in 5th gear to play well while Harden can get his numbers playing in 3rd gear and shift into fifth in games like he did against the wolves. i think Lin will eventually get there in a few years but Harden will be that much better by then. They will hopefully be the Batman and Robin backcourt for the Rockets playoff runs.

 

Fixed.

 

Sorry, just have to debunk this myth that keeps perpetuating the board. T-Mac actually elevated his game during the playoffs. Unfortunately his teammates were either not ready for the intensity of the playoffs (Yao), hurt (Yao again) or were mostly role players that weren't that good (everyone else, Ryan Bowen anyone?).

By the time the team was ready to move forward he got hurt and so did Yao (for the millionth time it seemed) and after that we were left with a team full of great role players but no superstars (the last 3 years).

I can only imagine what Daryl Morey would have done with good health from his star players. We could have been champs. Instead, we can only look at the 2009 series run as our highlight of the new millennium.

Sigh.