James Harden put on a show in his first game as a member of the Brooklyn Nets. After serving as a facilitator primarily to start the night, Harden finished with 14 assists in Brooklyn’s 122-115 win over the Orlando Magic. As the game progressed, he started to find his offense and went on to score 30 points on 8-for-18 shooting (3-for- 10 from deep) with 11 of his points coming at the free-throw line on 13 attempts.
Harden worked his way to the triple-double, grabbing 10 rebounds on the night to become the first player in franchise history to log a triple-double in his Nets debut. Only six other players in NBA history have done that in their debut with a team: Oscar Robertson, Nate Thurmond, John Shumate, Lewis Lloyd, Elfrid Payton and Russell Westbrook.
However, none of them scored 30 points in those games — Harden is the only one to ever do that while logging a triple-double in his franchise debut.
And what does that all mean to Harden?
“Nothing, I’m just happy we came away with the win,” Harden told Michael Grady on YES after the win. “Those stats don’t mean anything.”
Kevin Durant on James Harden's debut: "It was incredible."
— Alex Schiffer (@Alex__Schiffer) January 17, 2021
Harden and the Nets get back to work on Monday when they host Milwaukee Bucks.
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