Ray Allen laid down the path James Harden must walk in order to maximize his chances at an NBA title, with or without the Rockets.
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Allen won his first NBA title at the age of nearly 33. He knows all too well the pain of having to go through endless trials and tribulations en route a championship. It took him 2 trades and a playoff drought with a team despite scoring 25+ points per game to realize what he needed.
Ray Allen was lucky enough to end up on a Celtics roster alongside Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce. He understood that he’d have to play second, or sometimes third fiddle to the duo in order to win. Not every great has the same attitude towards winning. The likes of Allen Iverson and Carmelo Anthony immediately spring to mind.
Ray Allen’s advice to James Harden on how to win championships
Allen got very real when talking about what Harden needs to do in order to compete for championships:
“There’s a point where you have to be real with yourself and ask yourself:`What do I need to do to move to the next level?’ A lot of guys say they will make those changes and adjustments. But it’s a difficult, difficult process, and you have to make a huge sacrifice.”
Allen then explained what he went through when he earned a trade to the Celtics from Seattle:
“It was it was very unnerving, because now I don’t have a rhythm. It was pissing me off because I was like, ‘You want me to win the game, or help win the game, but yet you’re not putting me in positions to do that.’”
Truth be told, the analogues between Harden and Allen’s careers stop at one point. Harden is perhaps the only player other than LeBron James who can practically take any roster to the playoffs by himself. He is without equal as an overall offensive juggernaut in today’s game.
Nevertheless, if Harden ends up on a team with more talented teammates, he’d be well-advised to heed Ray Allen’s words.
