James Harden has had one helluva career in his 17 years in the NBA. One of the more lethal offensive players in NBA history, he has career averages of 24.0 points, 7.3 assists, and 5.6 rebounds. He is still an immediate game changer whenever he steps on the floor and he has made his impact felt everywhere.
In his one and a half seasons with the Philadelphia 76ers, Harden averaged 21.0 points, 10.6 assists, and 6.4 rebounds while leading the league in assists in 2022-23. He made everybody around him better and played a key part in Tyrese Maxey's development as well as Joel Embiid winning the MVP award that season.
HoopsHype ranked the top 80 players in the history of the NBA and Harden comes in ranked No. 32 on the list:
James Harden has a Hall-of-Fame
resume thanks to his unreal scoring ability and playmaking. His crossover and stepback jumper made him impossible to slow down, as did his strong shoulder on drives to the rim. He still has a chance to add to his legacy over the coming years, though winning a championship ring is starting to feel like a really long shot.
Believe it or not, Harden is now higher on the all-time playoff assists list than he is on the scoring list, which speaks to his genius as a playmaker to go with his historical scoring skills. But he continues to fall short in the playoffs, which might just be a part of his legacy.
Harden will look to return to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2026 offseason after the Cavs missed out on LeBron James--who landed with the Sixers. Either way, Harden is set to give the Cavs a full season of elite playmaking and an ability to score in bunches at a moment's notice. He is still a star-level player at this stage of his career.
This article originally appeared on Sixers Wire: Former Sixers star James Harden ranked No. 32 player in NBA history
