James Harden Is This Year’s Greatest Redemption Story

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Everybody loves a great redemption story. There’s no better feel-good tale than that of a guy who worked his way to the top, falls from grace and then climbs his way back to the mountaintop, better than ever.

In the NBA, most stars have stories that follow a linear path. As the typical progression goes: Player is drafted, develops, blossoms into a star, crescendos at the height of his glory, and then through the ravages of injury or time, they fade into the mist. Rarely do you find a player who falls from grace in the public arena after finding renown, only to once again reclaim that lost luster.

One such star who fits that rare narrative is James Harden. Two years ago he dragged his injury-depleted Houston Rockets to the second seed in the ultra-competitive Western Conference. No team in the West lost more man-games to injury than the Rockets did in 2014–15.

Through it all, James Harden thrived as the man for his team that season. Dwight Howard, the Robin to his Batman, missed more than half of the season for the Rockets, and Harden performed all the better for it (most likely because Howard never figured out that he was Robin). Harden was a close second to Stephen Curry in the race for the NBA MVP award, and earned the respect of his peers to the point where he was named the inaugural NBPA Player Awards MVP.

Then came the dark times. Last season was supposed to be the year the Rockets put it together and competed with the mighty Golden State Warriors for the Western Conference title. Dwight Howard was as healthy as he was ever going to be, Ty Lawson was brought to town with a chip on his shoulder and something to prove to the world, and sure enough, the whole thing came crumbling down upon itself.

The Rockets floundered and scraped their way into a eight-seed playoff spot they probably didn’t even want (see below), and were swiftly and appropriately destroyed by the Warriors in the first round.

Now, every comeback story needs a catalyst, something that sparks change and rights the ship to set it back on course. In this tale, that catalyst is Mike D’Antoni.

When D’Antoni was hired by the Rockets, the reaction across the NBA world was heavy with skepticism. He is no defensive guru, and the Rockets’ problems last season were defensive, not offensive. Surely he would simply be unable to hold Harden and company accountable on defense, and the whole thing would unravel.

Instead, D’Antoni’s schemes have utterly unleashed Harden on the offensive end, and general manager Daryl Morey surrounded him with deadly shooters like Eric Gordon and Ryan Anderson to capitalize on his unstoppable attack. Now with willing pick-and-roll big men in the form of Clint Capela, Montrezl Harrell and Nene, Harden has options galore when he has the ball in his hands.

While other superstars in the NBA have their own style of attack, whether it be Stephen Curry’s incendiary assault from the sky, Kevin Durant’s assassin-like quickness and precision, Russell Westbrook’s devastating rage-attack on the rim, or LeBron James’ overwhelming strength and determination, nobody quite has the package that James Harden provides.

Harden has a particular brand of guile and craft in his attack. He doesn’t look like an overwhelming physical specimen from afar, but he’s two inches taller and 20 lbs heavier than Russell Westbrook. He’s unstoppable when he decides to get into the paint, and he has such incredible body control that he can take any amount of contact around the basket and still convert (and usually draw a foul, driving fans crazy). It’s not easy to be both overpowering and sneaky, but Harden does it, and does it better than anybody.

He understands his limitations (there aren’t many), and he’s excellent at emphasizing his strengths. He’s a top-two or top-three playmaker in the NBA, possessing virtually unparalleled vision and imagination when it comes to getting teammates open, and getting those open teammates the ball in good spots. He leads the NBA in assists this season, and being able to set up and defer to his teammates has produced dividends on the defensive side of the ball as he’s been able to conserve energy on offense.

Yes, that’s right, James Harden is positively average on defense. Tell your friends, Harden is no turnstile. Not anymore at least. Now that he is longer required to take a beating on offense on drives to the paint every possession, Harden is able to maintain a more-than-acceptable level of defense for a top-five NBA offensive talent. He’s a neutral defender at worst by almost every metric that matters, and he’s capable of making game-changing plays like this block on Andrew Wiggins.

Harden’s development into facilitator extraordinaire is paying dividends for the Rockets. As he’s learned to trust and utilize his teammates, he’s been able to play his fewest minutes per game since becoming a starter after being traded from the Thunder to the Rockets in 2012. This will be a major benefit to both Harden and his team as the season grinds on.

A fresh Harden is one of the most dynamic scorers and facilitators in the NBA. As the Rockets are in the race for the second seed in the Western Conference, there should be no shortage of important games down the stretch.