
USA Today via Reuters
Aug 24, 2020; Lake Buena Vista, Florida, USA; Houston Rockets guard James Harden (13) takes a break during the second half in game four of the first round of the 2020 NBA Playoffs against the Oklahoma City Thunder at AdventHealth Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

USA Today via Reuters
Aug 24, 2020; Lake Buena Vista, Florida, USA; Houston Rockets guard James Harden (13) takes a break during the second half in game four of the first round of the 2020 NBA Playoffs against the Oklahoma City Thunder at AdventHealth Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
NBA fans will probably move on from everything, but there are certain things that they won’t ever let go of. One such example is when James Harden returned for training camp completely out of shape and the comparisons just wouldn’t stop.
In fact, people who he was compared with have also given their reactions to it, and rapper Rick Ross is one of them.
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Rick Ross takes it in good stride
In an interview with Shannon Sharpe, Rick and him discussed what it meant when Harden came back unfit for training. Sharpe lashed out and explained that more than anything, it was very unprofessional of him.
“I am with that. I agree with that,” said Ross. “Two weeks ago, they had me trending when he walked out on the basketball court. They said he looked like Rick Ross. They had me trending for 48 hours. I say that damn Twitter is something else.”
The two laughed after Ross revealed the comparison. If that wasn’t enough, Sharpe also went on to make more jokes about Harden’s looks, calling him “James Hardy”. He also said, “He looked like he had four or five bacon swiss cheddar burgers.”

USA Today via Reuters
Houston Rockets guard James Harden (13) reacts during the second half of game three in the second round of the 2020 NBA Playoffs against the Los Angeles Lakers at AdventHealth Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
The reason behind James Harden turning up like that
Nobody can know for sure, but it might have a lot to do with his disinterest in playing for the Houston Rockets. As soon as the league entered the offseason, Harden had demanded a trade. However, the Rockets were not willing to comply until they had a good enough deal.
At first, he didn’t even show up for camp and was actually seen partying around, breaking the league’s health and safety protocols. And when he did return, him being out of shape proved how unhappy he was with them.
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After pulling off so many antics, he finally got what he wanted. He is now part of the Brooklyn Nets alongside his former OKC teammate, Kevin Durant. The two, so far, have taken the league by storm with their chemistry. How this dynamic progresses when Kyrie Irving is added to the equation is another question altogether.
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