James Harden turns back the clock with vintage performances

The NBA just witnessed a special week. Despite the Los Angeles Clippers’ disastrous 4–11 record, one man has decided to take matters into his own hands. Over the past seven days, James Harden has looked like he stepped into a time machine—channeling the dominance of his prime years, much like Marty McFly did in Back to the Future four decades ago.

Harden’s 17th season began with solid but unspectacular numbers. The turning point came against the Suns, when he posted a season-low 13 points. He sat out the previous game against Phoenix, almost as if he were plotting a reset. What followed was a throwback stretch: 35 points, 10 rebounds, and 11 assists against Atlanta; 41–14–11 versus Dallas; and 37–7–8 in Boston.

Over his last six games, Harden has led the league in combined points, rebounds, and assists. He also joined Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant in the exclusive club of perimeter players with 28,000 career points. The 2018 MVP is suddenly playing at a level many thought was gone for good.

Oklahoma beginnings to Houston stardom

Harden’s journey began in 2009 with the Oklahoma City Thunder, a franchise freshly relocated from Seattle. Drafted third overall, he joined Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook—three future MVPs on one roster. As the sixth man, Harden helped transform the Thunder from a 23–59 bottom-feeder to a 50–32 playoff team in just one season.

By his third year, Harden was averaging 16.8 points in 31 minutes per game, winning Sixth Man of the Year and helping OKC reach the 2012 NBA Finals. But LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh’s Miami Heat proved too much, winning the series 4–1. That summer, Harden chose a solo path, leaving the Thunder for Houston in 2013.

The birth of “Hardenball”

In Houston, Harden blossomed into a superstar. His first season brought 26 points per game and his first All-Star nod, leading the Rockets back to the playoffs. But postseason heartbreak followed—first at the hands of his old teammates in OKC, then courtesy of Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors, who eliminated Houston in back-to-back years.

Enter Mike D’Antoni. The offensive mastermind gave Harden the freedom to run a radical system: four shooters spaced wide, Clint Capela anchoring the paint, and Harden orchestrating everything. The results were explosive. Harden averaged 29.2 points and 11.1 assists, finishing second in MVP voting behind Westbrook. The “Harden System” was born—basketball played like a video game, with Harden as the cheat code.

Though Gregg Popovich’s Spurs ended Houston’s playoff hopes, the seeds of Harden’s transformation were planted. He had become one of the most unstoppable offensive forces in NBA history, even if the ultimate prize—a championship—remained elusive.

Greatness without the ring

The 2017–18 season was historic for James Harden and the Houston Rockets. Under Mike D’Antoni, the team won 65 games—10 more than the year before—and Harden finally claimed his first (and only) MVP award. With that, the “Oklahoma trio” was complete: Harden, Kevin Durant, and Russell Westbrook had all earned MVP honors.

The playoffs brought an epic Western Conference Finals showdown against Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors. The series went the distance, tied 3–3 heading into Game 7 in Houston. Harden poured in 32 points, but Durant and Curry combined for 61. The Rockets collapsed in the third quarter, missing 27 straight three-pointers. The very style that had carried them to the top of the league doomed them at the brink of glory. The following season brought the same matchup, the same heartbreak. Curry and the Warriors went 4-for-4 against Harden’s Rockets.

Harden’s scoring explosion

Yet in that stretch, Harden authored one of the greatest scoring runs in NBA history. For 41 consecutive games, he averaged 40 points per night. To put that in perspective: averaging 40 points for even a single month has happened only 16 times in league history. Harden sustained it for three months. ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith captured the moment with a now-iconic shout: “He’s averaging 40!”

Defenses tried everything—double-teams, shading him left, guarding from behind to stop his step-back. Nothing worked. Harden was unstoppable. He finished the season averaging 36.1 points, followed by 34.3 the next year. But the championship never came. After nine seasons in Houston, the relationship soured, and in January 2021 Harden forced a move to Brooklyn.

Brooklyn, Philadelphia, and the same old story

In Brooklyn, Harden reunited with Durant and teamed up with Kyrie Irving to form another superteam. The Nets looked terrifying, sweeping the Celtics and jumping out to a 2–0 lead against Giannis Antetokounmpo’s Bucks. Then disaster struck: Irving went down injured, and the Nets’ dominance evaporated. In Game 7, Durant hit what looked like a game-winning three over P.J. Tucker—only for replay to show his foot on the line. It counted as a two, and Milwaukee won in overtime. Harden was left empty-handed again.

Philadelphia offered another chance. Daryl Morey, who had built Harden’s Rockets, paired him with Joel Embiid. On paper, it looked promising. In reality, it was combustible. Another Game 7 collapse—this time against Boston—ended the experiment. Harden lasted just a season and a half in Philly, mirroring his short stint in Brooklyn.

Clippers chapter: same ending, different jersey

The latest chapter came with the Clippers. Once again, Harden’s season ended in a Game 7 loss, this time to the Denver Nuggets. The pattern is undeniable: Harden has never been able to close the deal. His exits have often been messy, driven by his own demands and pursuit of comfort.

And yet, 17 seasons in, Harden remains an elite player. Critics can’t deny his talent, his numbers, or his impact. The ring has never arrived, and maybe it never will. But at this point, the only way to appreciate Harden is to enjoy the ride—without expecting the destination.

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