James Harden is ridiculed an often lot when it comes to the postseason. And frankly, it has come to the point where the star probably expects it every time his team loses a playoff game. Justifiably so, we must say.
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However, no matter how cool and composed his exterior may look at times, the Beard is human.
It’s bad enough that the man has to struggle so badly to reach a point he has wanted to reach his whole life. But, with the world coming down on him as well?
That doesn’t sound like a merry time whatsoever. And after it happened yet again after the 2022 playoffs, Harden just couldn’t take it anymore.
Let’s dive into what happened next, shall we?
James Harden was unreachable for his own agent and long-time friend after the 76ers’ exit from the 2022 NBA playoffs
Over the past couple of seasons, James Harden has had to move around quite a bit within the NBA. And yet, it still seems that the formula somehow just hasn’t been complete enough for the man to win his first ring, something he just couldn’t handle.
Here are the accounts of different sources on the matter, as per Heat Nation.
“Payne has known Harden for years, so he understood that Harden reacts to year-ending losses by holing up in his Houston home and withdrawing from the world,” Fox Sports’ Yaron Weitzman wrote. “But this … well, this was different.
“‘He was broken,’ one friend of Harden’s said. ‘It was bad. He was really hurting.’
“Another day went by,” Weitzman wrote. “Then another. Payne reached out to some mutual friends to see if they’d heard from Harden. None had. Payne tried Harden’s personal chef.
“‘Yeah, he’s here,’ the chef said. ‘He’s just saying he needs more time to himself.’
Finally, around Day 10, Payne’s phone buzzed. Harden’s name flashed across the screen. He told Payne that he was hurting, physically but also emotionally, that the previous two years – multiple trades, multiple injuries, multiple playoff failures – had left him drained and deflated, that he was eager to put it all behind him.”
James Harden himself spoke to a reporter on the matter too.
“The whole two years was a low point. I’ve never really had to deal with something like that,” Harden told Weitzman. “My body, mentally, physically … It was a lot going on. I mean, basketball is everything to me.
There is no answer,” Harden said. “I don’t make excuses. I came into a situation where, you know, [I was] trying to figure things out, wasn’t all the way healthy, it happened. I don’t got an excuse. And anything I say, somebody has something negative to say about or a rebuttal.”
That sounds rough, to say the least.
However, it does seem like it allowed the man to come into this season with some fresh motivation.
This might just be the 76ers’ year.
How has James Harden been so far this season?
So far this season, James Harden has averaged 22.1 points, 6.7 rebounds, 10.8 assists, and 1.5 steals per game. Additionally, the man has shot a relatively efficient 43.2% from the field, and 36.2% from beyond the arc.
So far this season, while he has undoubtedly taken a step back from ‘MVP Harden’, he has tried to remain fit and looks much better than he did last season.
With Joel Embiid reaching the levels he is, and Tyrese Maxey surging, perhaps that’s all he needs to do to finally win that elusive ring.
