Where would you rank James Harden's current offensive season all-time?

[aj1987]

12 free throws a game, not 20. And yes, I really do think 1 ring (and a finals MVP) would put Harden above Wade. 1 historic playoff run where he leads his team to the championship. That's the only thing Harden has left to do. He's done everything else. You gotta factor in all his accomplishments too and what he's been doing on a historic level. Wade was never this good offensively. Don't forget the fact that Harden is only 29 years old. He's been a very durable player throughout his entire career, and it's not crazy to say he might play until he's 38-40 years old. By that time, he'll probably have joined the 30k point club and he may have another MVP to his name. No other SG has won more than 1 MVP besides Jordan.

Yeah, he played with KD but Harden wasn't close to being as good of a player then.

He also played with Westbrook. Harden choked his tits off in that Finals.

[AirTupac]

When you consider Harden and his whole career in this context. There are a LOT of "Ifs and whens" for him in order to be compared to Wade.

IF/WHEN he wins a ring as the man (Despite disappearing every playoff)
IF/WHEN he's still balling out at 35 (Despite it rarely every happening)
IF/WHEN he's in the 30k club / while also winning a ring (Okay you are getting carried away)


He's not even ahead of West on the all time list when you look at important things of the game. Not another NBA stat padded season in a league that has gotten ridiculous for its calls / lack of rules for defenders to actually play defense.

[Smook A.]

He also played with Westbrook. Harden choked his tits off in that Finals.

If you really believe that Wade was better offensively at point of his career than Harden right now, you're crazy. I actually like you as a poster AJ, but god damn you're such a ****ing homer when it comes to Wade

35.7 ppg/8.5 apg on 62% TS blows 30.2 ppg/7.5 apg on 57% TS

And Harden definitely has a realistic shot at 30k career points. If he averages 23 ppg over the next 7 seasons, and plays an average of 75 games, he'll reach that milestone.

[hiphopanonymous]

It's one of the best of this era so far

But until we get a feel for what the recent rule changes have done to the game it can only be compared with other players seasons from around this era - in hindsight we may be able to say "ah okay all players numbers went up/down a certain way after xyz rule changes"

They recently changed the rules on defense too much to compare with past eras and of course many past eras seasons are tough to compare even with each other as rule changes never stop but after more time passes we'll be able to categorize this and other recent seasons better.

[Kblaze8855]

What do you imagine 09 Wade would do vs these defenses in a 5 out offense?

How could you possibly keep him out of the lane?

[Smook A.]

While I appreciate the non troll reply. That statement alone is really absurd. We all said the same thing about Kobe lasting till 35...36 (while being healthy). It happens RARELY. Beyond rarely. But I guess if you put it that way, if Harden leads the Rockets to a ring (which is also extremely doubtful) he could have an argument.... but I would still easily pick Wade after 2 seconds of thought. Still cant discount all those seasons of disappearing when it mattered most. If it wasn't for CP3 saving his ass in the last playoff series, we would be laughing at Harden even more.

Yeah it happens rarely, but I can see it with Harden. He's really really durable, but father time does kick in for everyone.

We'll see...

[aj1987]

If you really believe that Wade was better offensively at point of his career than Harden right now, you're crazy. I actually like you as a poster AJ, but god damn you're such a ****ing homer when it comes to Wade

If Wade was reffed the same way as current Harden, he'd averaged 40+ PPG. Go watch his games from the '09 season, when he was getting hammered and still putting up 30 and 8 on like 58% TS. All this while being a DPOY candidate.

I've said this before and I'll say it again. Harden is having an amazing and ATG season. However, he's still only good because of the refs and the retarded commissioner.

And Harden definitely has a realistic shot at 30k career points. If he averages 23 ppg over the next 7 seasons, and plays an average of 75 games, he'll reach that milestone.

Do you know how many SG's have averaged over 20 PPG after they were 33-34? Yeah, he's not going to get to 30k points.

[Smook A.]

What do you imagine 09 Wade would do vs these defenses in a 5 out offense?

How could you possibly keep him out of the lane?

He'd average more ppg for sure, but I still don't believe he'd had the same impact Harden is having right now on offense for Houston. It'd be close though

[aj1987]

He'd average more ppg for sure, but I still don't believe he'd had the same impact Harden is having right now on offense for Houston. It'd be close though

Bruh....

[LoneyROY7]

I was just watching Bart Scott’s famous “can’t wait” interview in a Facebook video and the first comment was “James Harden was awarded two free throws for this interview.”.

I just had to come let you all know.

Yes, there are haters just like you all over the web. Feed me MOAR.

[Smook A.]

]If Wade was reffed the same way as current Harden, he'd averaged 40+ PPG[/B]. Go watch his games from the '09 season, when he was getting hammered and still putting up 30 and 8 on like 58% TS. All this while being a DPOY candidate.

40+ ppg?

Let's be real, not even Durant, who's a superior offensive player, could average 40+ ppg if he was the only star on his team. And also, Wade in 08-09 only averaged 2 FTA's less than Harden does right now. It's hard to imagine that anyone would get over 12-13 FTA.

Do you know how many SG's have averaged over 20 PPG after they were 33-34? Yeah, he's not going to get to 30k points.

Let's say he finishes this season averaging 35 ppg and plays every game the rest of the way. He'll finish with around 18,700 points. He's 29 so if averages around 28-30 ppg for the next 3 seasons, and plays 75-80 games, he'll have over 25,000 points by the age of 32. Now let's say he plays until 37 and his ppg drops to 18-20 ppg in that time span. We'll say he plays 70 games on average between the ages of 32-37. He'll be scoring about 1400 points a season. Multiply that by 4 and he's at 30k.

He has a very real chance to get there

[SaltyMeatballs]

Are we really arguing who the better offensive player is between current Harden and peak Wade?

It's obviously Harden. Wade would never average 36 ppg and 9 apg even in today's NBA.

[aj1987]

40+ ppg?

Let's be real, not even Durant, who's a superior offensive player, could average 40+ ppg if he was the only star on his team. And also, Wade in 08-09 only averaged 2 FTA's less than Harden does right now. It's hard to imagine that anyone would get over 12-13 FTA.

As I said, they are not officiated the same way. You literally see defenders with hands behind their backs while guarding Harden. Try doing that with a prime Wade.

Let's say he finishes this season averaging 35 ppg and plays every game the rest of the way. He'll finish with around 18,700 points. He's 29 so if averages around 28-30 ppg for the next 3 seasons, and plays 75-80 games, he'll have over 25,000 points by the age of 32. Now let's say he plays until 37 and his ppg drops to 18-20 ppg in that time span. We'll say he plays 70 games on average between the ages of 32-37. He'll be scoring about 1400 points a season. Multiply that by 4 and he's at 30k.

He has a very real chance to get there

Meh, it's just mere speculation from both of us. However, I'm going to stand by what I said. Harden is not going over 30k.

Are we really arguing who the better offensive player is between current Harden and peak Wade?

It's obviously Harden. Wade would never average 36 ppg and 9 apg even in today's NBA.

Cool. And Harden was literally a bench player during Wade's time. Literally.

[SaltyMeatballs]

[QUOTE=Kblaze8855]I was just watching Bart Scott

[Smook A.]

As I said, they are not officiated the same way. You literally see defenders with hands behind their backs while guarding Harden. Try doing that with a prime Wade.

Realistically, what do you think Wade would average in today's NBA. Don't say 40+ ppg cause like I said, I don't even think Durant would average that if he was the lone star on his team.

Meh, it's just mere speculation from both of us. However, I'm going to stand by what I said. Harden is not going over 30k.

We'll see. It'll definitely be interesting to see if Harden can sustain close to this level play over the next few seasons and how healthy he can be.