Tag: James Harden

Tyrese Maxey still talking to, learning from former Sixers star James Harden

Tyrese Maxey is still talking to and learning from former Philadelphia 76ers star James Harden.

The Philadelphia 76ers moved James Harden to the Los Angeles Clippers back in October as they gave him what he wanted. The Beard was unhappy in Philadelphia and the Sixers remained patient until a trade materialized for him.

Harden did a lot of good things for the Sixers on the floor. He led the league in assists in the 2022-23 season and he did a lot of helpful things for Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embiid to help them move forward in their careers.

As Maxey is enjoying a probable All-Star season, he is keeping in touch with Harden as Philadelphia continues to progress. Maxey told The Athletic:

“He taught me a lot,” Maxey said. “I appreciate him for it. I still talk to him to this day, he still critiques the stuff that I do. All I can do is say thank you to him and I appreciate him.”

Maxey is averaging 25.7 points, 6.6 assists, and 3.6 rebounds while shooting 44.8% from the floor and 37.3% from deep. He has taken a big leap forward and is likely headed toward his first All-Star game. Even without Harden there to guide him, the young man out of Kentucky is continuing to take steps forward.

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James Harden was absolutely mesmerized by this poster dunk from LeBron James

James Harden could not believe what LeBron James had just done.

Even at 39 years old, LeBron James continues to stun his fans and his opponents alike with his athleticism on the basketball court.

During a Lakers victory over the Clippers in Los Angeles on Sunday, the four-time NBA Finals MVP threw down what was likely his most impressive dunk of the season.

LeBron finished with 25 points (11-of-19 FG), eight rebounds and seven assists in the win. But nothing was more memorable than his slam on Paul George during the third quarter, in which he took off from nearly the free-throw line.

Everyone watching the game was blown away by the highlight play but no one had a better view of it than Clippers guard James Harden.

The 2018 NBA MVP (who is a very expressive individual and often has reactions that turn into a meme) seemed like he could not believe what he had witnessed from LeBron on this possession:

Just look at Harden’s reaction and it tells you everything you need to know about how the other players around the league perceive LeBron.

They’re just as stunned as the fans are when they see him defy normal aging conventions in sports.

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James Harden is impressed not only by JuJu Watkins’ game, but her work ethic

James Harden offered very lofty praise for JuJu Watkins.

James Harden is paying attention to JuJu Watkins. That’s how much of an impression USC’s women’s basketball superstar has made on the basketball world, including the NBA community.

Harden recently had this to say about Watkins to the Los Angeles Times, via USC Athletics:

“She can become one of the best women’s basketball players to ever touch a basketball. That’s how good she is. That’s how hard she works.”

It’s striking that a player with James Harden’s level of achievement and status in basketball would be struck not only by Watkins’ quality, but her work ethic and overall habits. That’s a very specific observation by Harden, one which points to the kind of teammate Watkins is at USC. She isn’t just a standalone talent; she puts in the work and makes her teammates better.

Harden’s compliment is also noteworthy because Harden is one of the great scorers in basketball history. His style might not be aesthetically pleasing, but no one can deny how effective Harden has been at getting to the foul line and creating points in all sorts of ways. Watkins being able to do the same will help USC enormously in a cutthroat Pac-12 Conference.

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The remaining active NBA players from each draft class between 2003 and 2010

It is truly remarkable that LeBron is still playing as well as he does.

With each passing season, more and more players in the previous generation of the NBA are graduating into retirement.

Some of the most recognizable and dominant players of a beloved era (e.g. Dwyane Wade, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh, Dwight Howard, etc.) have recently ended their professional playing careers.

As the league begins to look increasingly different every year, we decided to look at which players drafted before 2011 are still active in the league. There are only 30 players who fit those qualifications and only 19 have started more than one game this season.

Here is a look at each NBA draft class and who remains active years later.

All data is provided via Stathead and is accurate as of publishing.

‘It reminds me of when I was here’: James Harden speaks highly of young Thunder

‘It reminds me of when I was here’: James Harden speaks highly of young Thunder.

The Oklahoma City Thunder’s 134-115 win over the LA Clippers could symbolically be viewed as a shifting of the tide in the NBA.

Though they’re near each other in the standings, OKC and LA have reached this point in opposite ways.

The Thunder’s youth has pried open a new contending window. The Clippers’ veteran group is headlined by several 30-plus-year-old stars who’ll likely make the Hall of Fame.

Both franchises are heading in different directions. The Thunder will likely enjoy a long run of success. The Clippers need to win right now before their stars age out.

It’s only fitting that OKC’s blowout win featured several former Thunder greats on the opposite side: Russell Westbrook, Paul George and James Harden each carved out their place in Thunder lore.

Westbrook continues to be a fan favorite. He was the recipient of the loudest cheers from an active crowd. George helped catapult the Thunder to their current success by demanding out. Harden was the headliner of one of the biggest trades in league history.

Even though he was only in OKC for three seasons, Harden spoke fondly of his time there and said the current core — led by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams — could bring success similar to that first iteration of the Thunder.

“It reminds me of when I was here, the beginning of the Thunder Up days,” Harden told local reporters after the game. “And it’s beautiful. It’s been a long time as far as the rebuilding process, but I think it’s exciting and these fans deserve some good basketball.”

While Thunder fans likely have mixed feelings toward Harden, it was a nice sentiment from the former MVP to speak highly of what OKC has built the last few years.

If what Harden says turns out to be true, then that means the Thunder will have a nearly two-decade-long window of winning basketball — something that seldom happens in small markets.

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Wake up, babe, new James Harden memes are dropping all over the place

Two new amazing James Harden memes are here.

James Harden has given us so many memes over the years, between his outfits and his famous side-eye GIFs.

Now, we’ve got two new ones that came in his last two games, where we’re seeing Harden having fun again with the Los Angeles Clippers. That’s also come along with him playing some of the best basketball we’ve seen in him as of late — a 35-pint performance against the Pacers on Monday and a 17-5-11 contest in a win over the Mavericks.

But: let’s get to the memes. There’s one of him opening his mouth to a camera and the other is a reaction to a tough Kawhi Leonard bucket:

NBA Twitter reacts to James Harden’s 35-point game, Clippers winning eight straight: ‘All the haters been quiet lately’

Here’s how NBA Twitter reacted to James Harden’s stellar performance and the Clippers winning eight straight games.

The Los Angeles Clippers have been on a tear recently, winning eight straight games and 13 of their last 16 contests while playing incredible offensive basketball.

Led by James Harden’s 35 points (21 of which came in the fourth quarter), LA’s team beat the Pacers in Indiana 151-127.

NBA Twitter quickly noted the Clippers’ winning streak and Harden’s stellar play.

James Harden did snow angels on court after hitting 4-straight 3-pointers for Clippers

James Harden found a very festive celebration for his hot hand on Monday night.

Los Angeles Clippers guard James Harden caught fire on Monday night by hitting four-straight 3-pointers against the Indiana Pacers in crunch time.

Since it’s Christmastime and all, Harden decided to break out a very festive celebration to commemorate his hot hand.

After the fourth 3-pointer, Harden fell to the ground and did snow angels on the court as his teammates came over to congratulate him.

Los Angeles got the impressive 151-127 road victory, thanks in large part to Harden’s 35-point performance. If Harden keeps playing like this, the Clippers are going to be a force in the Western Conference this season.

We’re not sure Harden could’ve picked a more appropriate celebration for the season, and Clippers fans will hope there are plenty more celebrations where that came from as Harden impresses in his first season with the franchise.

Perhaps Harden’s stellar play will be … the gift that keeps on giving for Los Angeles.

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Charles Barkley made up a fake Woj report to ferociously troll James Harden

How long do you think Charles Barkley was sitting on this?

Charles Barkley has no filter, and we love it.

The NBA In-Season Tournament is the gift that keeps on giving. Besides treating fans to moments that unraveled the internet, the NBA on TNT crew has mastered their crossover with ESPN.

It has produced some of the most chaotic moments in recent memory, and it’s being spearheaded by the hilariously unhinged Charles Barkley. It doesn’t matter if you’re Stephen A. Smith or former Golden State Warriors general manager Bob Myers. You, too, can get the jokes.

But he saved his gutsiest wisecrack for Los Angeles Clippers star James Harden. Harden’s antics from his summer have not left Barkley’s mind, and he let the folks on set know about it.

Feature image from ESPN and TNT.

Clippers’ James Harden opens up on what happened with Daryl Morey

Los Angeles Clippers star James Harden opens up on what happened between he and Philadelphia 76ers president Daryl Morey.

The saga between James Harden and the Philadelphia 76ers was a soap opera throughout the summer of 2023. It began with Harden opting into his $35.6 million player option for the 2023-24 season not to remain in Philadelphia, but to facilitate a trade.

The Sixers could not move Harden until Halloween when they finally sent him to the Los Angeles Clippers in a deal that netted four players and draft assets.

The events leading up to the trade, included Harden calling President of Basketball Operations Daryl Morey a liar while on an Adidas tour in China He also missed media day as well as the first day of training camp, and he did not play in any preseason or regular-season games before the deal.

Now settling in with the Clippers, Harden revealed to The Athletic’s Sam Amick in a sit-down interview that Morey told him he was going to get the max. When Harden did not hear from Morey after the Game 7 elimination loss to the Boston Celtics, that’s when the situation changed for him.

Harden told Amick:

Yeah, me and Daryl had a really good relationship. So (in the past), a week or two after we lose in the playoffs, it would be all about trying to figure out how to improve the team. (They’d talk about) ‘How do we get better?’ And that’s been going on for 10-plus years, you know what I mean? And then this year, there was no communication. And at that point, it’s like, ‘OK, I see what’s going on.’ I’m very intelligent. So then I just figure out ‘What’s my next move, and what do I want to do?’ So I understand that, at the end of the day, this is a business. And just like he has to do what’s best for his organization, I’ve got to do what’s best for me and my family. It’s as simple as that.

In Morey’s defense, he had been hit with multiple tampering charges in the past for violating the league’s negotiating window policy. Therefore, there wasn’t much he could do in terms of negotiations with Harden. He did not want to risk getting hit with another tampering charge, and he cannot be blamed for that.

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After Harden opted into his deal, he told Amick that Morey revealed to him that he would be traded quickly. Obviously, that did not happen as he told Amick:

It was just patience, because the day that I opted in, there was a conversation and communication (with the Sixers) about it being a 10-day process. This was gonna happen within 10 days, and then it got dragged out for four and a half months or however long it was. So at that point, you’re holding my life up, holding everybody else’s life up. You’re making it look crazier than what it is. And something that we had internal conversations about is basically dragging out, so it was a little frustrating.

Again, in Morey’s defense, he has to do what’s best for the Sixers. While one could assume he would have liked to get a deal done sooner rather than later, it didn’t work out that way. He needed to wait for the right deal to come along. The Clippers and the Sixers eventually worked out a deal for Harden, and now, both sides can move on.

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