Tag: 2012 Olympics

Kendrick Perkins believes James Harden’s time with Team USA led to Thunder departure

Kendrick Perkins believes James Harden’s time with Team USA led to Thunder departure.

In recent years, one of the most altering deals in league history involved the Oklahoma City Thunder. After failing to reach an extension, OKC shipped James Harden to the Houston Rockets in 2012.

The Thunder failed to get proper value as they fell short of a championship with Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. Meanwhile, Harden blossomed into a superstar and was one of the best players of his era.

In a “Road Trippin'” podcast appearance, Kendrick Perkins revealed Harden’s time with Team USA in 2012 showed the first signs of fractures in his relationship with the Thunder.

After an NBA Finals appearance, OKC’s trio of Durant, Westbrook and Harden were on Team USA during the 2012 Olympics. They went on to win a gold medal. Afterward, Harden was eligible to sign an extension with the Thunder but never did.

“(Kevin Durant) said, ‘Man, (we’re) about to lose (Harden)’,” Perkins said. “… At the Olympics (LeBron James, Dwyane Wade), all those guys were telling James, ‘Bro, (you’re) too nice to be coming off the bench… You need to have your own team.’”

This has been a popular theory for years. Many assumed Harden’s time with Team USA planted the idea that he was too talented to be the third option. There are other reasons why he left OKC, but that was a primary one.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

Flashback: LeBron James’ hilarious Kobe imitation on Team USA in ’08

LeBron James has always had a well-known sense of humor, one that was good enough to even make Kobe Bryant crack up in 2008.

Although the debates, both old and new about who the best player ever is are continuing to be brought up with ferocity in light of the release of ESPN and Netflix’s “The Last Dance,” partisans of Michael Jordan, LeBron James and Kobe Bryant as the GOAT could stand to appreciate some of the moments between the players they all consider the best. Over the last few months since Kobe’s passing, we’ve learned more about how close he and LeBron James were, as well as how LeBron looked up to him earlier in his career. Perhaps one of the most defining things about their rivalry, which never culminated in an NBA Finals, was their friendship. Part of that friendship, like most, came with making jokes.

LeBron’s sense of humor and proclivity for cracking jokes with his teammates even made Kobe laugh when the subject was Kobe himself. A video recently resurfaced from the 2008 Olympics when LeBron started imitating Kobe’s mannerisms right in front of Kobe.

Kobe was rarely in the mood for jokes, but humor appears to be one of the ways that he and LeBron used to connect as friends.

[lawrence-related id=29536,25940]