FOLLOW THE LEADER
James Harden has grown into more than the face of the franchise in his sixth season here
After six years as a Rocket, James Harden has taken ownership of the team.
Not too long ago, he was, at best, the third-most talented player on a championshipcaliber team.
Kevin Durant was the “6-11 guy who could score with anybody.” Russell Westbrook was the “athletic guard who could fly with anybody.”
James Harden, the sixth man for the Oklahoma City Thunder for the first three years of his NBA career, said he was “just trying to find my little niche.”
To have room to grow, Harden had to accept Daryl Morey’s challenge: Come to Houston to be the man.
The game is always dribble, pass, shoot, but when your name is on the marquee, basketball is a different sport.
Many have had the desire to upgrade from supporting cast member to superstar lead and failed.
Harden is a natural leading man. The ego to believe, the talent to deliver. But not all leading men are leaders.
Harden became a leading man when he joined the Rockets in a trade before the 2012 season. Opinions vary among Rockets staffers as to when Harden became a leader, but that’s more a matter of semantics than disagreement.
There is little debate Harden’s leadership today is a stark improvement from what it was just a couple seasons ago.
‘He takes it very seriously’
Having garnered the fame, the riches, the adoration that he sought as a kid growing up in Los Angeles, Harden wanted more. It was there for him. He could see it, but he didn’t know how to take hold of it.
He had to understand that sharing a bright spotlight is better than hogging a dim one. He had to recognize that being the best individual doesn’t make one the best teammate. He had to learn the difference between carrying a team and lifting a team.
The development of James Harden the leader has the Rockets, who take on the Golden State Warriors in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals on Monday, believing they can win an NBA championship.
“What I've seen in James, and I'm really proud of, is his understanding of his responsibility and the accountability that he has as the leader of the team and as the face of the franchise,” Rockets CEO Tad Brown said. “James has become that person who wants to be relied upon. He wants to be able to bring his teammates along, and he wants to make sure they understand that none of this is possible unless they're all doing it together.
“This is not only to his teammates and his coaches but really to the organization and the fans in general. He takes it very seriously.”
Harden has always taken his game seriously.
His evolution as a player is an interesting study in that he is rarely given credit for the work he has done to become one of the best basketball players on the planet.
The dedication required to take Harden’s physical gifts and produce what Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni describes as the best offensive player he has ever seen is immeasurable.
Unless there is massive voter fraud, Harden will be named this season’s Most Valuable Player when the NBA makes that announcement next month, but D’Antoni isn’t a prisoner of the moment.
D’Antoni, who entered the NBA as a rookie in 1973, played with or against or coached against most of the game’s all-time greats, a list that aside from Magic Johnson and Larry Bird includes every MVP since Wilt Chamberlain claimed the honor 50 years ago.
He has coached Harden for only two years and sees the guile, intelligence and drive that makes him an unstoppable force. He has also caught Harden on the upside of his leadership growth.
Kevin McHale, who coached the Rockets from 2011-15, was there for the growing pains.
Harden has always been sociable, but in a sense, he was a loner in the Rockets’ locker room in his early days with the team. Not anymore.
Younger players look up to him and follow, but more importantly, veterans on the squad not only respect Harden but often defer to him.
Seasoned vets like those with the Rockets — Joe Johnson (16 seasons), Nene (15), Trevor Ariza (13), Chris Paul (12), Gerald Green (10), Ryan Anderson, Eric Gordon and Luc Mbah a Moute (nine seasons each) — don’t concede that type power on talent alone. One must display the ability to handle the responsibility. Harden has done that. “James has gotten better at communicating,” said Ariza, who has been teammates with Harden since 2014. “He’s in a better place. He’s happier. Him watching people work at their craft has helped him build better relationships. He has found ways to bond with people, each in different ways.”
While hardly all Harden’s fault, the failure of him and Dwight Howard to mesh kept the Rockets from being a consistent winner in their three seasons together (2013-16).
Art of communication
The doubts about Harden’s ability and willingness to bond with Paul, who came to the Rockets via trade last offseason, were based mostly on the messiness with Howard.
While Paul is a far cry from Howard, Harden is not the same guy he was then either.
“Any relationship you have, you have to work on it, and it takes a lot of communication. You have to open up,” Ariza said. “Obviously, Chris is a good communicator; he likes to talk a lot. And James was getting better at communicating. It’s a great fit. I think the two personalities has made it easier.”
Harden wasn’t ready for that fit a few years ago. He was still working on finding his “little niche.”
In light of two second-place finishes in the MVP voting in the previous three years and an almost certain higher one this year, Harden’s place in basketball is already too wide to be described as a niche.
The stronger the leader he becomes, the wider it is.
And the more likely a championship is in the offing.
“We've seen him just grow leaps and bounds over the last few years,” Brown said. “There is a reason why all these guys truly love each other and spend a lot of time together. It’s because they all embrace the same thing: winning a championship.
“And that doesn't happen unless your leaders are the ones who are really developing that. That’s what James, the leader, has done.”