Houston Rockets’ James Harden Reaches Incredible Milestone in Clash Against Dallas Mavericks

James Harden is always considered as one of the greatest players of the modern era. However, it is time we start analyzing the impact he has had on basketball history. As he looks to wrap up his third-scoring title, James Harden is etching his place in the lists of basketball greats. He is starting with his current franchise, the Houston Rockets.

Harden was traded to the Rockets in 2012 from the Oklahoma City Thunder. The best returning asset was a first-round pick that became Steven Adams who is still the team’s starting center today. In his time here, Harden has emerged into one of the finest scorers of the generation. Despite post-season failures, Harden has remained super proficient in the regular season. He is averaging 30 points a game for the third season, also comfortably having secured his third scoring title.

Harden overtook Calvin Murphy to become the second-highest scoring Rockets player ever. Harden dropped 23 points in the first quarter against the Dallas Mavericks in the restart. The last two points were points number 17949 and 17950, which puts him second all-time. Harden is still 8,561 points behind Hakeem Olajuwon.

James Harden: The greatest modern scorer?

Harden has established himself as possibly the greatest scorer of this generation. His high-volume style of play has led to consistent high-scoring nights. He is averaging 25.1 points for his career, and that is despite his slow start in Oklahoma. He still has a fair few years of his peak with him, even though he has entered his thirties.

James Harden is 40th on the all-time NBA scoring list. However, he will be jumping up to feasibly the 36th spot before the season is over. He trails the likes of Bob Petit, Pau Gasol, and Larry Bird. How high Harden can end up on this list will be seen, but his progress is phenomenal.

Harden’s greatest scoring rival can only be Kevin Durant, who was winning scoring titles with a young Harden on the bench in OKC. Durant’s individual numbers have dropped since he left Oklahoma for Golden State, and Harden has promptly taken the crown. Everyone is just waiting for Harden to replicate KD’s post-season success.

Source: Twitter – @cayleighgriffin