‘James Harden did not win because he wasn’t as good as LeBron James, Steph or KD’: Nick Wright explains why Rockets star is ringless

Nick Wright thinks that it’s only right that James Harden is ringless so far, given that he isn’t as good as LeBron, KD or Steph.

The Rockets traded for James Harden a couple of weeks before the start of the 2012-13 NBA season. Since that time, nobody has scored more points in the regular season than the Beard. Harden has finished top 3 in MVP voting in 5 of the last 6 seasons.

One could argue that he deserved at least one, maybe 2 more MVP trophies than he has. As things stand, the 31-year-old is at a crossroads in his career. It is rumored that he has put in a trade request to join another contending team. Harden believes the Rockets’ championship window is closed now.

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James Harden is under more pressure to win a ring now than ever. He is nearing the traditional latter end of most players’ peaks. He’ll stay on in the NBA for several more years, but he definitely won’t be Finals MVP material in 5 years.

Why Nick Wright thinks James Harden has gone as far as he can with the Rockets

Over the past few years, there has been a growing sense of belief among NBA fans that as good an offensive force as he is, Harden doesn’t have it in him to lead a championship team. The Rockets have made the playoffs every season for the last 8 seasons. But in the wild West, that is nowhere close to elite.

2 days ago, Nick Wright discussed what the Harden era has been like:

“If Harden is traded today, the James-Harden Rockets era was a massive success. … If he ‘failed’ it’s bc he wasn’t quite good enough. He wasn’t better than Steph, KD or LeBron. Yeah, they gave him a lot of power. It worked as well as it realistically could’ve.”

“In the last 40 years, 38 champions have had a Top 20 all time player. Only the 2019 Raptors & 2004 Pistons didn’t. The Rockets problem wasn’t enabling Harden, it was that as great as Harden is he isn’t quite good enough.”

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