A surprising statistic reveals James Harden has donned the Nets uniform more often than Kyrie Irving despite signing with the franchise one and a half-season later than Uncle Drew.
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One of the best offensive teams to assemble in All American sports history, the Brooklyn Nets are yet to play to their full potential. We are yet to witness the basketball brilliance of the Nets Big 3 at its peak. Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and James Harden have played a mere 16-games together.
Injuries played a role in depriving hoops fans across the globe of witnessing the offensive powerhouse in Brooklyn. Despite missing the conference finals by a toenail, the Nets fans were optimistic the 2021-22 season would be theirs. However, Irving’s anti-vaccination controversy might be the last straw.
According to reports, the former Cavs champion’s part-time status has irked point guard Harden, who had come to Brooklyn to win a chip but has found himself in a similar situation to that he had in Houston. With KD having injury hiccups, Harden has been the offensive catalyst for the franchise.
Reports of a potential Harden trade have been circulating in the media. However, the former Rockets MVP has maintained that he wants to stay in Brooklyn.
A surprising statistic reveals James Harden has played more games than Kyrie Irving.
While Irving signed with the Nets during the 2019-20 off-season, Harden forced himself out of Houston amid the 2020-21 season. Surprisingly, the three-time scoring champion has not only played more minutes than Irving but a similar amount of games in less than half the time.
Irving has played 2930-minutes so far for the Nets in the regular season, while Harden has played 2946 minutes. If further divided season-wise, Irving has played 658+1,886+386 over 2.5 seasons, and The Beard has played 1319 + 1627 over 1.5 seasons.
Via: Basketball Reference
The statistics between the two Nets guards continue to surprise. Irving has played 85-games in 836-days, and Harden 80-games in 385-games so far. Thus the news of Harden wanting out doesn’t surprise many.
Via: Basketball Reference
Irving’s unpredictable nature has always been a cause of concern as this is not the first time he has missed games due to unusual reasons. In the past, the seven-time All-Star has missed games even without informing his coaching staff or teammates.
With Harden turning 33-years of age in August this year, his championship window is closing. Having achieved all individual accolades in the NBA book, it’s a ring that is missing from Harden’s decorated career.
