James Harden’s time with the Houston Rockets gave birth to one of the most unstoppable offensive forces the NBA has ever seen. The Beard averaged 30+ points per game for three straight seasons, including a career-high 36.1 points per game in the 2018-19 season. Conversations about scoring ability often see him placed second only to Michael Jordan, but Paul Pierce believes that Kobe Bryant was also better than the Beard.
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Of course, having had the opportunity to play against both of these players, Pierce finds himself in the perfect position to make this claim. That is exactly why the Hall-of-Fame forward couldn’t, in good conscience, put Harden above Bryant.
On ‘The Truth Lounge’, Pierce, alongside guest Trevor Ariza, discussed the differences between the two. Pierce highlighted one key difference that he feels gives Bryant the edge. He claimed that the versatility of their scoring ability separated the two. In his opinion, Bryant could score in a variety of ways, which made him more difficult to guard.
He said,
“To me, Kobe was a better scorer, and I’ll tell you why. James scored, he had 35. But when you talk about how Kobe scored as compared to how James because James was get to the rack, get fouled, step back three. Kobe was to the rack, step back three, mid-range, up and under, left hand right hand, and more efficient. It was just many ways he did it.”
He went on to say, ‘If he goes left, he’s got a counter to the counter, so I don’t know if he’s going to fade away. He’s going to fake the fade away and then step through. He’s going to pivot with the left or right. It was just so much stuff.”
Harden was also difficult to guard, but as a defender, it was common knowledge that the Rockets’ star would get a majority of his points from step-back threes.
However, Ariza didn’t share the same opinion as Pierce. Unlike the Celtics legend, Ariza played alongside both Bryant and Harden. The 6-foot-8 wing played with the Lakers during the team’s 2009 NBA title run. He played with Harden from 2014 to 2018, witnessing his growth into one of the league’s best players.
During his time with the Rockets, Ariza witnessed Harden impact the game in a way never seen before. “The way James manipulated the game, it started something completely different,” said Ariza. The 18-year NBA veteran highlighted Harden’s impact on the stylist change as a deciding factor in his argument for the greatest scorer of all time.
Harden revolutionized the skill of getting fouled along with the enhanced focus in isolation scoring. Ariza attests the success of players such as Luka Doncic to the groundwork Harden created. The Beard’s ability to score through contact on the perimeter was second to none during his MVP year, and he terrorized defenders with his ability to create 4-point plays.
Both Bryant and Harden understood where their success lay and worked on enhancing those areas to the best of their abilities.
Harden and Bryant’s work ethic
Of all the skills Kobe had, his work ethic was by far his most important. In the modern era, players use Bryant as a source of inspiration for crafting their games. Kobe worked tirelessly on all aspects of his offensive repertoire until there with hardly any flaws left.
Unlike other stars of his time, Bryant’s shots were always highly contested. He mastered the art of footwork to maneuver to the best position while honing his shooting ability. As a result, Kobe averaged 25.0 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 4.7 assists per game over his career.
On the other hand, Harden found a couple of areas that he excelled in and worked on those until he mastered them. His relationship with drawing fouls is akin to Dennis Rodman’s ability to pull down rebounds.
After isolating his defender, Harden would rhythmically dribble him into a trance, before jacking up the most unlikely shot from 35 feet. The result was almost always the same- Harden on the floor fouled, the defender in awe, and the ball in the net.
His tremendous foul-drawing ability has also placed him 10th all-time in free throws attempted.
