The Clippers star James Harden has arguably been one of the greatest shooting guards to ever play the game after Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, and Dwyane Wade. One of the key reasons why he falls behind any of these players is that his performances have never converted to a championship.
However, while recording the latest episode of his podcast ‘Game Over’ with Max Kellerman, renowned NBA agent Rich Paul claimed that had he teamed up with LeBron James at any point in his career, he would have three NBA championships by now.
“If you’re saying this [Luka] is James Harden 2.0. You know what I would do? I would go back, and I would look at how a team was constructed around James Harden, and I would look at my current team.”
“I can almost guarantee you there was no LeBron James on that team with James Harden, because if it was, he would have three rings. I can guarantee you that,” Paul added firmly.
While Rich Paul was mainly addressing how Luka Doncic is compared to Harden now and referring to a blueprint for a championship-contending team built around Harden, his bold claim almost completely shifted the focus of his statement.
But essentially, what Paul was trying to emphasize was that LeBron James could be an X-factor for the Lakers to propel themselves into a serious championship-contending team if they resolve their internal problems.
Furthermore, LeBron James has previously put Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in the same category as Harden as well. This shows how much influence Harden’s prime has had on the players in the next generation after him.
Harden joined the Rockets in 2012 after failed contract negotiations led to his trade from the Thunder. At that time, the Heat’s superteam of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh was already constructed; therefore, Harden and James could not possibly have teamed up, considering Harden was looking for a max contract.
Subsequently, in 2018, a solid window did show up when LeBron James could have joined the Rockets as a free agent to make this union happen. However, due to financial restrictions, LeBron James would have had to take a significant pay cut in the prime of his career.
Therefore, he chose to join the Lakers instead of forming another superteam with Harden and Chris Paul. Had the Lakers forward given up the money to form a superteam on the Rockets, Harden could’ve had a chance to win three championships from 2019 to 2021. But unfortunately, that never happened, and eventually even Harden demanded a trade.
But considering that the Lakers are still treated as potential championship contenders with a 41-year-old LeBron James and Harden 2.0, a union of prime James Harden with the Lakers forward would more likely than not have resulted in multiple championships for the duo.
