James Harden is now nearing the end of a legendary career, but questions remain about how good he was at his peak. Perhaps it’s the fact that unlike some of his more prominent shooter peers, he never won a championship that triggers these questions.
Yes, although Harden has now become a point guard, early in his career he dominated as a shooter with the Houston Rockets. Interestingly, some have argued that Harden’s style of play is far removed from that of other legendary shooters like Dwyane Wade and therefore much less effective at winning trophies.
During a recent appearance on the Unguarded podcast, During discussed Harden and Wade’s playing style with Houston Rockets teammate Fred VanVleet. The 2019 NBA champion made a bold statement: declaring “That style of play may not necessarily be as effective at winning a championship as someone like D-Wade, where his style of play might have a bigger impact on winning.”
Durant, however, couldn’t support VanVleet’s opinion, instead saying he sees a lot of similarities in their two styles of play.
“It was all downhill – pick and roll to the cut. I score tonight. Shaq was out there, but he was a second option. And he had shooters around him – (James) Posey and Antoine Walker. And he had backup point guards who could help him. Who does that look like? James Harden,” » proclaimed Durant.
These comments circulated all over social media before reaching Wade, who during his last appearance on the Time out podcast, accepted it as a supplement.
“He was comparing James Harden and said he saw similarities in our games in the sense that you watch downhill players make plays for their teammates and themselves and put pressure on the defense all day long.” Wade said.
Although social media is quite divided on the subject, if one actually analyzes Durant’s statement, it contains a lot of truth. Harden has developed a more reliable three-point shot than Wade over the years, but getting to the rim has always been the recipe for his success.
The key for Wade to winning his first championship in 2006 was getting to the rim and committing fouls. This sounds an awful lot like Harden.
The only criticism people have about the current Los Angeles Clippers star is that he failed to win a title. Unfortunately, it’s not entirely his fault. He had to face arguably the greatest team built in NBA history, the Golden State Warriors.
Meanwhile, Wade was part of the Big Three Miami Heat, which dominated the early 2010s. The luck of the draw hasn’t been in Harden’s favor, but that doesn’t mean his style of play isn’t comparable to Wade’s.
