During a 2011 Drew League game, a prime Kobe Bryant schooled a trash-talking James Harden by dropping 45 points on him. The 5X NBA champion had averaged 25.3 points per game in the preceding 2010-11 season while playing all 82 regular season games. This wasn’t long after the Black Mamba had added the last two titles to his collection. The 2008 MVP was pumped up after a rising star like Harden dared to challenge him on the court albeit not on an NBA one.
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Kobe was on a mission anyway after LeBron James had dropped 33 points, 10 rebounds, and 7 assists in the competition just three days ago. At that time, the Beard was around 22 years old and had averaged 12.2 points the preceding season. This was before he had reached the peak of his scoring prowess. But that didn’t keep the budding superstar from challenging a 1v1 monster like Kobe Bryant. A clip of the brilliant matchup was recently resurfaced by Hoop Herald.
In the clip, we could see the two NBA stars stealing the show. Bryant displayed his quick baseline cuts and an assortment of jumpers. In response, Harden checked him with his lockdown defense but the Lakers legend used his body to create separation without caring about a contest.
The emerging guard got a full taste of the Mamba’s lockdown defense, incredible handles, and relentless drive to make key shots. As the icing on the cake, Kobe nailed the game-winning fadeaway from the top of the key despite Harden’s hand being in his face. Fans stormed into the court to mark this “magical” win.
For Harden, this experience played a part in molding him into the elite scorer he is today. As a franchise star, the guard later carried the Houston Rockets to their best record in franchise history. He even led them to multiple West Finals, only to be denied by the dominant Golden State Warriors. Since then, Harden has only seen his postseason fortunes dwindle.
Kobe Bryant modelled his career after the great Michael Jordan, who was one of the NBA’s most lethal trash-talkers. Therefore, Kobe knew how to use trash-talking as motivation to fuel his performance even in a pro-am game. And that’s exactly what he did against Harden.
Kobe Bryant’s prediction turned out to be true
In February 2019, when Harden was at his peak, Kobe Bryant had predicted that Harden’s ball-dominant style would not manifest into a championship. Talking to ESPN’s Rachael Nichols, Kobe had said, “I’m not a fan of it in terms of winning championships. I don’t think that style’s ever gonna win championships.” But this observation didn’t stem out of a lack of belief in Harden’s abilities. The Mamba acknowledged that he was forced to play that way.
“But at the same time, you have to keep your team’s head above water to win games. You have to do what you have to do to win games. And he’s doing that,” added Kobe Bryant, while sitting alongside Tracy McGrady.
He didn’t appreciate people “minimizing” the incredible offensive talent that Harden displayed and believed that what he was doing was “remarkable”. Perhaps the observant master hooper was pointing out that if Harden and Co. engaged in a more concerted effort, they’d be closer to a ring. That prediction has been true till date as James Harden is still looking for his first ring. However, he might have his best shot yet with the Los Angeles Clippers this season.
