“James Harden Changed the Individual Play”: Cam Thomas Explains How Stephen Curry and the Clippers Star Changed the Game

Draymond Green’s podcast, The Draymond Green Show, had Cam Thomas as the guest during the latest episode. Green picked the Brooklyn Nets star’s brain on a lot of things, which included his opinion on Stephen Curry and James Harden.

The Warriors star brought up how Harden’s comments on how he has changed the game has sparked debates on whether he has impacted the game more than Curry. So Green asked Thomas’s opinion on the matter.

He also asked the 23-year-old which player he has modelled his game after.

“I think we really gravitated towards James [Harden], because James was doing the isos, breaking people down one-on-one, scoring the 40s and 50s. I think Steph really changed the way teams wanted to play the game of basketball, shooting the threes, you know, the pace y’all play at, moving around without the ball,” Thomas said.

I think Steph really changed the way the teams around the league tried to play. James really changed the individual play of players,” he added.

The Nets star couldn’t have summed it up any better. While Curry and the Warriors’ success in the NBA Finals prompted teams to adopt the Dubs’ fast-paced small ball play and three-point shooting, Harden’s smooth moves on the court attracted individual players. Therefore, teams started collectively shooting more threes and players started emulating Harden’s stepbacks and iso moves.

Curry’s game is modelled closely to aid the team. It is not as flashy as the Beard’s moves and is not easy to emulate as well. Therefore, Harden had a more significant impact on young guards.

But they have always been mentioned in the same breath.

Harden and Curry have always drawn close comparisons

Green’s question to Thomas is far from the first time the two future Hall-of-Fame guards have been compared. Dating back to their college days, franchises debated which guard’s playing style could elevate their team more.

Harden and Curry were both selected in the 2009 NBA Draft, picked 3rd and 7th, respectively, which ultimately placed the two in a comparison battle that would span their entire careers.

Curry has undoubtedly had more team success, but Harden has always been right on his tail in terms of individual production, especially in his prime with the Houston Rockets. Harden has noticeably slowed down since leaving Houston, but he still has been producing at All-Star levels with the Los Angeles Clippers.

While Steph’s three-point efficiency and volume paired together have always blown the rest of the NBA out of the water, Harden’s unmatched scoring peak allowed The Beard to recently enter the NBA’s top 3 in all-time three-pointers made, trailing only, Stephen Curry.