Even after all these years, James Harden feels the same way about not winning an NBA championship.
James Harden is one of the greatest players in NBA history. It’s easy to forget this fact, given his decline over the last few years.
But even in his reduced state, Harden is a star-level player in this league. The legendary guard has achieved a lot in his career, including an MVP win in 2018.
However, there is one glaring absence on his resume—an NBA championship. Harden has spent his entire career trying to achieve that goal.
He did reach the NBA Finals in 2012 with the historically great Oklahoma City Thunder, but failed to win the title then.
As a star, he spent his prime years battling against the unstoppable Golden State Warriors. Those battles are why Harden hated the Warriors for so much of his career. But the goal, even at this point in his career, is the same—to win an NBA championship.
During an appearance at Fanatics Fest in New York City, James Harden did a panel with comedian Druski and interacted with the fans in attendance.
One fan caught Harden’s attention, yelling at him to win an NBA championship. Rather than lambast the fan, Harden affirmed that he is still pursuing that goal.
Fan: “Win a championship!”
James Harden: “I will, I’m trying!”
Clearly, Harden still wants to compete at the highest level and earn a championship before he calls time on his legendary career.
How he gets that done and with which teams is the question, as Harden is a free agent this summer, and could leave the LA Clippers.
If we look back at his career, James Harden has had the best chance to compete for an NBA championship when he has had a strong roster around him.
On the Thunder, Harden was effectively an All-Star-level sixth man playing with Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook when they reached the NBA Finals.
During his time with the Houston Rockets, Harden led the team to the Western Conference Finals while playing with Chris Paul, and had strong role players like Clint Capela and Austin Rivers on his side.
But perhaps the most devastating disappointment came from his time with the Brooklyn Nets. He, Durant, and Kyrie Irving spearheaded one of the greatest offenses in NBA history.
Injuries and poor timing got in their way, as they were eliminated by the Milwaukee Bucks in 2021, who then went on to win the NBA championship that year.
Since then, Harden hasn’t been part of a convincing roster to compete for a championship, despite playing alongside Joel Embiid during his MVP season on the Philadelphia 76ers.
If the LA Clippers are serious about building a contender around Harden and Kawhi Leonard, then they must look to upgrade their roster this offseason.
Brian Windhorst suggested the Clippers trade for Kevin Durant. But that is unlikely to happen, given that the Clippers aren’t one of the interested parties.
Whatever the Clippers do, they must maximize the potential of their roster this offseason, as they cannot afford to waste the limited window they have with Leonard and Harden.
