FIBA World Cup: What We Learned About Each Player On Team USA’s Roster

James Harden

Anyone who watched a minute of Team USA in the FIBA World Cup will know what I mean when I say that James Harden did a lot of James Harden things in the tournament. He was incredibly effective from the field, shooting 52.6 percent from the floor and 41.4 percent from three-point territory. He led Team USA in scoring with 14.2 points per game. He scored in double figures in every game except for the United States’ opening blowout of Finland, when he scored nine.

In the gold medal game, Harden put up 23 points on 8-of-11 shooting (3-of-5 from downtown). His numbers were impressive and he made 81 percent of his 42 free throws. But as always, the biggest reason a lot of critics aren’t willing to call Harden the best shooting guard in the league reared its ugly head again: James Harden’s downright laziness on the defensive end.

Believe it or not, Harden’s not a bad defender when he’s engaged. Back when he was the Oklahoma City Thunder’s sixth man, he was responsible to defending Kobe Bryant in the playoffs, after all. But Harden’s emergence as a dynamic offensive weapon seemingly makes him think he’s above defending, which has a lot to do with his tendency to ball-watch and lose his man for backdoor cuts or open perimeter looks. Harden could be an MVP candidate if he just locked in defensively, but his time under Thibs this summer doesn’t look like it did the trick.