Is the NBA crowd misunderstanding James Harden? Well, there is a high chance that the answer could be yes. The recent series of criticisms after a subpar season with the LA Clippers has put the former MVP under fire. But, with flashes of brilliance and 94 seconds of debut magic, Harden proved why the Clippers pursued him for five months.

However, with myriads of accusations lining up one after the other, Harden might be having a tough time dealing with all of it. Thus, his former Houston Rockets teammate Danuel House Jr. has sided with the 35-year-old to highlight the star guard’s exceptional scoring abilities. There is no doubt that Harden is one of the greatest players in the NBA. But his recent records seem to be marring his reputation as a shooting guard. Meanwhile, Danuel House believes the opposite; for him, James Harden is still one of the best players out there giving his best in the game. Meanwhile, House recalls that no player was triple-teamed like prime James Harden during his time in Houston.

On the ‘Ur. Perspectives’ podcast, Danuel House defended Harden. He emphasized the immense defensive pressure faced every game. Especially, the former MVP, James Harden who always had at least three players tagging him throughout the games. “People talk about the Rockets and James Harden, and they criticize us for not getting it done in the playoffs. But they don’t realize how hard it was. Harden had three defenders on him every night. Name another player who had to deal with that on a regular basis,“ Danuel House Jr. shared. The Beard is undoubtedly lethal, therefore he always tackled more than one defender in all the games. Moreover, House strongly feels that no other NBA star could’ve done this every day.

“Teams would throw everything at him—double teams, triple teams, even weird defenses like having a guy stand behind him to stop the step-back. It was crazy. But despite all that, he still got his numbers. People want to blame him for not winning, but it wasn’t just on him,” Danuel concluded. This is pretty much the picture of terror, James Harden has painted in the minds of his rivals. Although Harden’s current numbers don’t mirror his peak, House argues that Harden’s legacy deserves recognition among the NBA’s elite. In 2018, when James became the MVP, he averaged 30.4 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 8.8 assists per game. This might be one of the greatest records you’ll ever see. Meanwhile, the 2023-24 season with the Clippers saw Harden average 16.6 PPG, which compared to prime James Harden is pretty low.

Moreover, the accusations of the Beard being the sole reason behind 9x NBA All-Star and LA Clippers icon Paul George‘s exit. This episode has everything to do with the team re-signing Harden for the team all over again. Patrick Beverly said he knew that the 6’8″ giant wouldn’t stay if the ex-MVP was retained in the team. Therefore, everyone is blaming James for Paul George’s surprising exit. Meanwhile, a blast from the past has come back to haunt the 35YO ex-Rockets legend. It looks like Kobe Bryant made a confession 6 years ago, and every word that he uttered has turned out to be true.

Kobe Bryant’s predictions for James Harden and the Rockets proved correct

The year 2018 witnessed the beast named James Harden- the unmatched MVP of the season. If you want to know what a player can be in his prime, you must look for the Beard from 6 years ago. However, there was a forewarning for the Rockets and Harden by the Mamba himself. Following the glorious stint of Houston’s foreman, Kobe Bryant although impressed had frightening news for the team. The Lakers legend didn’t prefer the idea of having a single dominating player with the ball. “That style of playing is never winning a championship.” This was the brutal reality check, Kobe had slammed the Rockets with.

Moreover, the Mamba had emphasized using Chris Paul to get the ball on the floor, thus dividing the strategy evenly. Above all, a good defense was a must for the playoffs which the Rockets lacked for the greater part of their peak seasons. Thus, when James Harden left Houston in 2021, he still had no ring and remains without one today.

Hopefully, the 2024-25 season could bring some hope for the ex-MVP, James Harden. His critics would surely pay close attention to his game. This is the right time to turn the tables and only Harden can do it.