Arizona State alum, Clippers star James Harden can slow the critics, rewrite playoff legacy

Like it or not, James Harden is considered one of the greatest NBA players ever.

Beard and all, Harden is 11th on the all-time scoring list and on pace to become only the ninth player in NBA history to reach 30,000 career points.

The Arizona State product made the NBA’s 75th team, has won MVP once, but hasn’t reached the finals in what feels like ages ago — in 2012 when he, Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook were young pups leading the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Harden is viewed by some as a guy who just can’t get a team over the hump. That narrative will be further cemented if the Los Angeles Clippers can’t push through this year.

They face elimination going into Game 6 May 1 against the fourth-seeded Denver Nuggets.

The Clippers have two-time finals MVP Kawhi Leonard as healthy as he’s been in years, an NBA champion head coach in Ty Lue and a complement of quality talent, but Harden has come up short in their past two games, both losses.

Game 4 — 15 points (5-of-11 FGs, 1-of-2 from 3), four rebounds, 11 assists, four turnovers.

Game 5 — 11 points (3-of-9 FGs, 0-of-2 from 3), eight rebounds, five assists, four turnovers.

Harden scored only five points on 1-of-5 shooting and committed three turnovers in the second half of Game 5.

He’s been praised for leading the Clippers with Leonard missing the majority of the regular season and is seen as worthy of an All-NBA selection. But another early playoff exit will give his critics more reason to say he’s just a scorer and can’t deliver when it matters most.

The Houston Rockets were a win away from reaching the 2018 finals in Harden’s MVP season, but lost Games 6 and 7 to the Golden State Warriors. Harden scored 32 points in each game, but he shot a combined 6-of-25 from 3 and committed 14 total turnovers.

He teamed up with Kyrie Irving and Durant in Brooklyn, but that didn’t result in a championship. Harden then forced his way out of there to co-star with Joel Embiid in Philadelphia, but once again came up short in the postseason.

Now he’s with his fifth NBA team in 16 NBA seasons. The Clippers won 50 games and went into this year’s playoffs as one of the favorites to reach the finals despite being a fifth seed. Now their season is on the line with Harden on deck to once again be one of the first to blame.

He’s a future first-ballot Hall of Famer and is part of one of the most viral moments ever when the NBA honored its 75^th team during the 2023 All-Star weekend in Cleveland.  

There Harden stood with Stephen Curry, Dwyane Wade and Gary Payton in amazement watching Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson trash talk in the hallway of what is now called Rocket Arena.

Harden is one of the game’s best players. No denying that, but he’ll continue to be viewed as someone who can’t get it done when it matters most if the Nuggets take down the Clippers.

Have opinions about the current state of the Suns? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin at dmrankin@gannett.com or contact him at 480-810-5518. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @DuaneRankin.

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