In his first-ever podcast interview, Clippers superstar James Harden discussed his legacy, sneaker deals, multi-million-dollar business advice he received from the late Kobe Bryant and more in his appearance on “Earn Your Leisure.” One of the most interesting tidbits from the hour-long interview was Harden’s retrospective opinion on his former Thunder squad.
Harden, regarding his time with Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook in OKC, stated that the Thunder would have won a pair of championships, at minimum, if they hadn’t disbanded.
“My rookie year, we were the eighth seed and played the Lakers, who were the number one seed,” Harden said. “We scared them, but they ended up winning the championship. My second year, we were in the Western Conference Finals against Dallas, and they went on to win a championship. My third year, we’re in the [2011 NBA] Finals against the Heat and they won a championship.”
After winning a gold medal in the 2012 London Olympics alongside his Thunder teammates Durant and Westbrook, Harden then discussed that he believed the team was primed to win an NBA championship.
“That summer, we went to the Olympics and won a gold medal. My fourth year, it’s on. But, in the summertime, I got traded. Just a couple of days before the first game.”
Shockingly, Harden revealed that Oklahoma City’s young core was split up over a $4 million dispute.
“[We split up] over $4 million,” Harden expressed disappointment. “It was all over 4 million dollars.”
After winning Sixth Man of the Year and helping lead the Thunder to back-to-back Western Conference Finals appearances, Harden later clarified that he was due for a salary increase. However, the team extended standout defender Serge Ibaka instead and traded Harden to the Houston Rockets.
If the generational trio of Durant, Westbrook and Harden had never dissolved, the Clippers guard believes Oklahoma City could have become a dynasty.
“We would’ve won two chips at least, at the minimum,” claimed Harden.
While Harden’s vision of the Thunder’s potential is lofty, it isn’t far-fetched. Despite not winning a championship, the Oklahoma City team featuring Durant, Westbrook and Harden is regarded as one of the best in the history of the NBA. In the years following Harden’s departure, each of the budding Thunder stars won the Most Valuable Player Award.
Durant took home the NBA MVP following a 2013-14 season in which he led the league in points (2,593) per game (32.0 PPG) and was selected to the All-NBA First Team. Westbrook won the 2016-17 MVP a few years later. That season, Westbrook led the league in points per game (31.6 PPG) while averaging a triple-double. The UCLA product also broke Oscar Robertson’s record with 42 triple-doubles in a single season.
The following year, Harden earned his first MVP as a member of the Rockets. That season, the 28-year-old guard averaged 30.4 points, 8.8 assists and 5.4 rebounds per game while helping the Rockets to an NBA-leading 65 wins. Like Durant and Westbrook, Harden led the league in scoring in his MVP season while pacing the league in three-pointers and 50-point games. The former Rocket joined Michael Jordan as the only player to average at least 20 points, eight assists, five rebounds and 1.7 steals in a season.
Given the immense success each All-Star enjoyed following their split, it isn’t unreasonable to believe that the Thunder could have won two championships, if not more, as Harden stated.
Despite not yet capturing an NBA title, Harden isn’t sour about being traded from the Thunder. Instead, he is grateful that he was allowed to blossom into a superstar in Houston and beyond following the trade.
“Probably not,” Harden stated when asked if he would have developed into an MVP-caliber player in Oklahoma City. “It’s hard to say. I was [a] Sixth Man [of the Year award winner], but I was eventually going to have to start. I only [came off the bench] as a sacrifice for the team. It made us better. But eventually, I was going to have to start.
“Like, my skill was getting there to where, by my fourth year, I’m not sitting on no bench. I’m not Sixth Man, I already got that.”
Despite believing that he potentially missed the opportunity to become a champion with the Thunder, Harden reiterated that his departure may have benefited his career.
“It was all over 4 million dollars,” Harden said of his divorce with Oklahoma City. “It was a blessing, though. Coming off the Finals, which I didn’t play well, and then the Olympics… an opportunity to be around all those vets, my first year in Houston, I went crazy.”
While it can be nice to envision what could have been in Oklahoma City, Harden stated that he is still laser-focused on adding an NBA championship to his Hall of Fame-worthy resume.
“I’m still gonna try and get one,” proclaimed Harden. “That’s the goal. I work my [butt] off every day to win one.”
