“I’m a Killer, I Work My A** Off”: James Harden Thanks Former NBA MVP For Helping Him in His Struggles

Reebok and Adidas recently came together for a historic crossover to launch ‘Question,’ a new-look version of the original Allen Iverson’s ‘Question’, crafted by Reebok. This collaboration brought two MVPs together: Iverson and James Harden. Recently, Reebok released a conversation between the two where Harden talked about how Iverson helped him and his play style.

“I feel like everything I’m going through right now is what you went through, just a newer version,” Harden said, talking about his critics. “Criticism, negative energy, negativity. ‘Why does he do this? ‘Why does he do that?’ Like, nobody understands. I’m not here to explain myself or try to get people to understand where I come from, or what I do, or why I do it. I’m a killer, I work my ass off. Maybe when I’m retired, maybe when I’m done and gone, it’ll catch up to you.

James Harden thanks Allen Iverson for paving the way

“I wanted to say I appreciate you, bro, for paving the way and leading that example and getting [people] like me to follow it and to try and be even better at being themselves. Because that’s all I can be. So, I appreciate you.”

“Those are my flowers, why I’m still here,” replied Iverson. “When I get them from killers like you, those are my flowers, right there.”

For a few years now, Harden has been one of the best scorers in the league. He is now on his way to win a third scoring title. But his offensive approach has often drawn a lot of criticism. He relies a lot on free throws, attempting a league-high 11.8 attempts. He also tends to take a lot of threes, shooting a league-high 12.6 attempts but makes just 4.4 at 35%.

Harden has also drawn criticism for not being able to lead his team to postseason success, but with Russell Westbrook on his team now, this could change. Westbrook, a former MVP himself, is redeeming himself after a poor season last year. With Westbrook and Harden, the Rockets have one of the best backcourts in the league. Coach Mike D’Antoni will be relying on them to fire the Rockets to postseason success and finally bring a title to Houston after 25 years.