To call James Harden’s tenure with the Rockets dramatic would be a major understatement.
He always wanted new partners, was always partying on off days, and never lived up to expectations in the playoffs. This month, it all came to its peak when the 8x All-Star basically gave up on his team during a postgame interview, which was followed by criticism from his then teammates.
Pictures also surfaced online of him looking uncharacteristically thick, a sign, by some, that perhaps he wasn’t very well conditioned for a tenure with the Rockets.
James Harden starting to look like Kendrick Perkins #Rockets pic.twitter.com/15KXclCLtz
— StateLine Sports (@statelinesportz) December 16, 2020
Funnily enough, however, he looked much better in his workout photos today, suggesting that him looking big may have been just another step in his process to get traded.
Harden is skinny again 😂 pic.twitter.com/Ep2cFcUk9q
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) January 16, 2021
On a serious note, the reason for Harden’s size changes probably has something to do with what he wears to those pre-game shootarounds. Shirts and/or padding makes a lot of sense.
Still, it doesn’t mean fans can’t take a joke anyway…
https://twitter.com/badgaIbia/status/1350576049449553921https://twitter.com/netsstan/status/1350570003834294276https://twitter.com/NapToniusMonk/status/1350572809156784128https://twitter.com/SixersDee/status/1350570056678322179
He stopped eating those honey buns as soon as he got the word he was traded.
— Richie Incognito (@Solomon_Imhotep) January 17, 2021
So, it seems like this whole thing might finally be coming to a close.
Harden, now finally in the place that he wanted, seems as locked-in as ever before. He’s skinny, dropped a triple-double in his first game, and is playing with a new spirit about him.
It’ll be interesting to see how he does in Brooklyn.
