Can James Harden eclipse the 3,000-point plateau?

Since being acquired by the Houston Rockets, James Harden has scored more points than any of his peers. Can the All-Star guard eclipse the 3,000-point mark?

For over the last seven seasons and counting, Houston Rockets superstar James Harden has been synonymous with the art of scoring as astronauts are to the city where his game resides.

Since becoming a Rocket, the Bearded One has never averaged less than 25.4 points per game in any of his previous seven seasons in Houston.

The former sixth man — who scored a total of 2,818 points last season — averaged 42.8 points per game throughout a 20-game stretch from mid-December to late January last year.

En route to constructing one of the most spectacular stretches of individual offense since the merger, the back-to-back reigning scoring champion, who captured last year’s title by the largest margin since Wilt Chamberlain in 1963, is currently showing no signs of slowing down.

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Harden, who has amassed more points than any other player since arriving in Houston before the 2012-13 season, posted a league-best 31.2 points per game in just 28.9 minutes per game through six preseason outings.

"“He’ll do what it takes to win,” Rockets head coach Mike D’Antoni said when recently asked about the face of the franchise per Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle. “Here’s a guy, he didn’t have to play. It’s preseason. He doesn’t have to start the season like this. But you know he wants to. He has that edge. He’s got that gene.“Whenever he plays, he’s going to give us a chance. Whenever he plays, games or practice, he’s all business. He loves to play…Every year he gets better. Every year his scoring average goes up. If that continues, he’ll get up to 40. It’s what he does.”"

Although it remains to be seen if Harden can become the first man since The Big Dipper to average 40 points or more in a season, eclipsing the 3,000-point plateau throughout an 82-game slate would certainly help The Beard in his quest to turn D’Antoni’s remarks into reality.

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Elevating his name even further in the discussion of all-time great scorers, one can remain certain that last year’s MVP runner-up will generate more than his fair share of opportunities to become just the third player in the history of basketball to accomplish the feat.

"“Every single season he adds something to his game,” MIlwaukee Bucks guard Wes Matthews said in an interview with SB Nation’s Kristian Winfield when addressing the challenges that comes with defending Harden’s offensive prowess on a year-to-year basis.“Not just one. You see what he does. That’s what makes him great. He does what he does even when you know it’s coming.”"

Should the following trends continue as most expect, there is a chance that Harden just might be able to do it after all, as doing what most hoops fans would deem to be far-fetched would make for quite a lofty exploit for the all-world guard who once stood in Kevin Durant’s shadows.

In addition to showing just how far his game has truly come, Harden’s next act could very well be his best one yet.