Top Five Shooting Guards in NBA History
Best Shooting Guards in NBA History: Number 5
James Harden, OKC Thunder, HOU Rockets, BKLYN Nets, PHL 76ers (2009 – Present)
When James Harden was a member of the Oklahoma City Thunder, he was seen as a sparkplug, a guy who could come off the bench and “get buckets” in a hurry.” In his third season, the team reached the NBA Finals and lost to LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and the Miami Heat. Although it appeared the Thunder would make many more trips to the NBA Finals, this would be the end of their promising young core and their last voyage to the NBA’s biggest stage.
That summer, the Thunder decided to prioritize Serge Ibaka over James Harden. While in hindsight, the move seems ridiculous, it was not a bad idea at the time. In the 2012 run to the Finals, Ibaka looked like a player who could eventually become one of the premier power forwards in the league. Meanwhile, an elite player like Harden could be easily replaced. Or so it seemed…
That off-season, the Houston Rockets came calling. Fresh off of the Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming era, the team was looking for a new franchise player to make them relevant again. They saw OKC’s young bench-mob star as their next superstar. They orchestrated a sign-and-trade that instantly made Harden one of the highest paid players in the league and the face of the franchise. In his first regular season game as a Rocket, against the Detroit Pistons, Harden scored 37 points and led the team to victory. A new era had begun.
Harden’s exploits in Houston would become legendary. He would go on to lead the league in scoring and become the 2018 League MVP. If his co-star Chris Paul hadn’t pulled his hamstring in the 2018 Western Conference Finals, he Rockets would have most likely beaten the Golden State Warriors and gone on to win the NBA championship that season.
However, throughout his brief stint in Brooklyn, and his current tenure in Philadelphia, Harden has remained one of the most compelling playmakers in the NBA. Time will tell if he and Joel Embiid can lead the 76ers to their first championship since 1983, but regardless, Harden is one of the greatest shooting guards the NBA has ever seen.