50 Greatest NBA Players Without A Championship (Updated Through 2015-16)
By Phil Watson
17. James Harden
Oklahoma City Thunder 2009-12, Houston Rockets 2013-16
James Harden debuts on this list after passing the 10,000-point plateau during 2015-16. The third overall pick out of Arizona State by the Oklahoma City Thunder in the 2009 NBA Draft, Harden has played in the postseason in each of his seven NBA seasons.
With Oklahoma City, Harden matured into a potent reserve, earning Sixth Man of the Year honors in 2011-12 while helping the Thunder to the NBA Finals, where they fell to the Miami Heat.
That culminated a three-year climb by Oklahoma City–a first-round exit in 2010 was followed by a trip to the Western Conference Finals in 2011.
But faced with the prospect of needing to keep young stars Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, Harden was deemed expendable and in October 2012 was dealt with Cole Aldrich, Daequan Cook and Lazar Hayward to the Houston Rockets.
OKC’s return on the trade–Kevin Martin, Jeremy Lamb, first-round picks in 2013 and 2014 as well as a 2013 second-rounder–is still hotly debated.
Harden signed a five-year extension with the Rockets upon arrival and set about establishing himself as a superstar.
He has gone to four straight All-Star games with Houston and is a three-time All-NBA selection who has led the NBA in free throws and attempts each of the last two seasons.
The Rockets have been bounced in the first round of the playoffs three times in the last four seasons, however. They did reach the Western Conference Finals in 2015 before being swept by the Golden State Warriors.
In seven NBA seasons, Harden is averaging 21.1 points, 4.9 assists, 4.6 rebounds and 1.5 steals in 33.2 minutes per game while shooting .443/.368/.855.
The current tally on Harden’s playoff career:
NBA Finals: 0-1
Conference Finals: 1-2
Conference Semifinals: 3-0
First Round: 3-4
Next: 16. No Finals Highlights