INGLEWOOD — James Harden is an 11-time All-Star and a future Hall of Famer, but he has never been an NBA champion. He holds three league scoring titles, a Sixth Man of the Year award and has been named to the All-NBA First Team six times. But the veteran point guard has never held the Larry O’Brien trophy.
But at 36 years old, Harden isn’t done chasing that elusive dream.
“I’ve accomplished everything in this game individually, so I think that there’s no secret of what we’re trying to accomplish here, and it’s going to be a lot of different steps to be able to get to that,” Harden said.
Taking the first step for Harden is just that simple. He’s been doing that for 16 seasons and is about to embark on another season in his decorated basketball career with no intention of slowing down.
“I love to hoop,” said Harden, who declined a $36.3 million player option this summer then signed a new two-year, $81.5 million contract. “But (saying) 17 years, made me feel like I’m damn old. But basketball gives me a different feeling. I just love it. You know what I mean?”
Harden said he views every training camp as a canvas, a place where he can show off buffed-up biceps and celebrated ball-handling skills. He also has assumed the leadership role he moved into last season.
He often stays after practice working with the younger players, and held a mini-camp in Arizona this summer, something he also did last season.
“It’s a new opportunity to be legendary individually and find ways to bring the best out of your teammates as a leader of the team, and then still trying to accomplish what we’re trying to accomplish as a unit,” he said. “So, it feels like day one for me.”
Last season, with six-time All-Star Kawhi Leonard on the shelf for the first 40 games, Harden was counted on to lead not only in the locker room and on the court but on nearly every possession. His ability to facilitate was indispensable and a necessity for the Clippers to stay afloat.
The Clippers, behind Harden’s 22.8 points, 5.8 rebounds and 8.7 assists per game, were able to go 24-21 while Leonard worked to comeback from a troublesome knee.
Coach Tyronn Lue said the addition of guard Bradley Beal and forward John Collins will alleviate some of the burden that James carried last season, keeping the bearded veteran from the kind of fatigue that crept into his game late last season.
“We do have to do a good job to protect him from himself, so he is not getting worn out and worn down and maybe, so some injuries won’t seep in,” Lue said. “We just want to make sure we do it right by James.”
Harden, however, has no intention of easing up or changing his approach to playing.
“My workload is my workload. I prepare to play every single game at 36, 37, 38 minutes, however many minutes I got to play, I prepare for that,” Harden said. “There are some games you might play for 20 minutes because we handle business. Some games I might play 40. So, it all sort of balances out and I prepare my mind and my body for it.”
With more talent, though, Harden will not have to facilitate as many plays or look to create numerous pick-and-roll plays. He might see a lot more catch-and-shoot opportunities.
“We’ll see what that looks like. We got more guys that can handle the ball more, guys that offensively can put pressure on defenses, which makes our job – everybody’s job – a lot easier,” Harden said. “Last year we were put in a position where I had to, from the beginning of the season, have a higher workload. So, this year hopefully it’s a little bit different, but I could be more efficient.”
Harden believes the Clippers have the talent and depth this season to contend for an NBA title.
“There are so many teams in this league trying to win a championship and there’s only a handful who have a real opportunity,” Harden said.
“Obviously you got to be good enough straight up, you got to be good enough, and then you got to be healthy. Those are two things. We’re both of those right now and we have got to play this whole year out and put ourselves in a great position to compete at a high level when it comes to the postseason.”
If that happens, Harden and the Clippers could turn their shared dream into a reality.