Photo Credit: AP Photo/Craig Lassig

Stephen A. Smith Is Tired Of People Not Appreciating James Harden’s Greatness 

In the 2018-19 season, James Harden had the second-longest streak of 30-point games in NBA history, second to only Wilt Chamberlain. During that span, Harden averaged 41.1 points per game.

On top of that, he lead the Houston Rockets to the playoffs, averaging 36.1 points, 6.6 rebounds, 7.5 assists and 2.0 steals. But ‘The Beard’ did not win the MVP award and finished the voting in second behind Giannis Antetokounmpo. Worse than not winning the MVP though, was yet another early playoff exit for ‘The Beard’ and his Rockets. 

This past season, after a relatively slow start, Harden was back to leading the league in scoring with 34.3 points per game, only to see himself being eliminated in the second round fo the playoffs again.

His career accolades though are already very impressive. He’s a six-time All-NBA Team member, an eight-time All-Star, a three-time scoring champion, an assist ‘champion’, and an Olympic gold medalist.

The only things that’s lacking on James Harden’s resume is some postseason success in the NBA and an NBA championship. This lack of playoff success is the main reason why he has often been questioned by fans and analysts. 

But Stephen A. Smith now took up the cudgels for Harden, urging people to put some respect on his name, while saying that he’s tired of people not appreciating his greatness.

“I’m tired of people not appreciating the greatness of James Harden. It ain’t just one-on-one basketball, his ability to get to the free throw line, to draw fouls, to dance on you, to create his own shot, to hit from three, to hit midrange shots, to finish at the basket. This brother is a magician on the offensive side of the board, and absolute scoring machine. Okay!”