James Harden is an American professional basketball player for the Philadelphia 76ers of the NBA.
Let’s find out some trivia and facts about the basketball player.
- His full name is James Edward Harden Jr.
- He was born in August 26, 1989
- He is an American professional basketball player for the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association (NBA)
- Harden is widely regarded as one of the greatest scorers and shooting guards in NBA history
- He played college basketball for the Arizona State Sun Devils
- There he was named a consensus All-American and Pac-10 Player of the Year in 2009
- Harden was selected with the third overall pick in the 2009 NBA draft by the Oklahoma City Thunder
- In 2012, he was named NBA Sixth Man of the Year with the Thunder and helped the team reach the NBA Finals
- They lost to the Miami Heat in five games
- With the failure of the Oklahoma City Thunder to offer him a max contract, he refused their contract extension offer when it was substantially under the max
- The Thunder subsequently traded him to the Houston Rockets before the 2012–13 season
- In his first season with the team he set or matched several team records and was named to his first All-NBA Team (a third-team selection)
- As well as his first NBA All-Star tea
- Over the next seven and a half seasons with the team he would lead the league in scoring three times and assists once
- He was named the NBA Most Valuable Player in 201
- During his time in Houston, he was named to eight consecutive NBA All-Star teams and earned All-NBA Team honors seven times, including six first-team selections
- In the beginning of the 2020–21 season, Harden was traded to the Brooklyn Nets as part of a four-team trade. With the Nets
- He was named to his ninth and tenth consecutive All-Star games while going back to playing point guard
- In October 2021, Harden was honored as one of the league’s greatest players of all time by being named to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team
- In 2023, Harden led the league in assists for the second time in his career
- He has never missed the playoffs in his career
- Harden is a two-time member of the United States national team
- Winning gold medals at the 2012 Summer Olympics and 2014 FIBA World Cup
- Harden is the youngest of three children
- Before his birth, after that of his older sister, their mother suffered a string of miscarriages
- Harden is a Christian
- He has talked about his faith, saying, “I just want to thank God for everything he has done in my life”
- Harden started growing his trademark beard in 2009 after being too lazy to shave
- His beard has appeared in songs and T-shirts, and it earned him an endorsement and a unique candy with Trolli’s where a depiction of his face and beard was shown on each gummy
- On August 3, 2015, the sports apparel company Adidas submitted an endorsement deal to Harden worth $200 million over the next 13 years
- On July 18, 2019, Harden became a part owner in Houston’s professional soccer teams; the Houston Dynamo of MLS and the Houston Dash of NWSL
- Harden explained his decision by saying “Houston is my home now, and I saw this as a way to invest in my city and expand my business interests at the same time”
- As well as “This is my city and I’m here to stay”
- On October 4, 2019, Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey issued a tweet that supported the 2019–20 Hong Kong protests.
- Morey’s tweet resulted in the Chinese Basketball Association’s suspension of its relationship with the Houston Rockets
- Harden later apologized to China, saying, “We apologize. We love China”
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