When Chris Paul signed with the Houston Rockets to join James Harden, the Western Conference was instantly put on notice. Two of the best guards in the history of the game teaming up represented a huge threat to every contender in the league, including the Golden State Warriors.
Even so, some tough luck, injuries and questionable officiating hurt the Rockets’ chances to get past the Warriors when Paul was around. Moreover, sometimes it felt like the two stars didn’t get along and some reports claimed that their relationship had reached a breaking point.
Still, both Harden and Paul have constantly repeated that they hold no grudge towards each other. Paul addressed the situation again ahead of the Rockets vs. Thunder matchup for the first round of the playoffs, claiming there are no hard feelings between them:
“We don’t talk or communicate but it’s all good & well. I wish him the best. Sometimes you have teammates for a period of time & that’s ok. We wish each other well going forward, it doesn’t mean you have to be kumbayah and it doesn’t mean you have to be enemies,” Paul said, as quoted by Anthony Duckett.
CP3 on Harden: "We don't talk or communicate but it's all good & well. I wish him the best. Sometimes you have teammates for a period of time & that's ok. We wish each other well going forward, it doesn't mean you have to be kumbayah and it doesn't mean you have to be enemies."
— Anthony Duckett (@a_duckett) August 18, 2020
Both Harden and Paul have earned a reputation of being tough to their teammates so this approach to their relationship doesn’t strike us as a surprise. At the end of the day, they just take them as coworkers and try to push them towards the ultimate goal: winning an NBA Championship. Now, we’ll see who prevails.
