How James Harden Failed To Win a Championship with the Houston Rockets

The tale of James Harden as a Houston Rocket is a story of misfortune, heartbreak, and shock. Every year it seemed as though they fell short, but why did this happen? How did the Rockets get gifted one of the greatest scorers we’ve ever seen, and were still unable to make it to the NBA Finals? This is how the Houston Rockets failed to win a championship with James Harden.
Patreon: / dylandoesbasketball
Twitter: / dylanhoops
Tracks Used (in order): controlc.com/a3cbc7c5
Chapters:
00:00 - Introduction
02:32 - First Season in Houston
04:26 - 2013 Offseason
04:52 - 2013-14 Season
05:19 - 2014 Playoffs
06:11 - 2014 Offseason
06:44 - 2014-15 Season
07:34 - 2015 Playoffs
09:56 - 2015 Offseason
10:25 - 2015-16 Season
11:20 - 2016 Offseason
12:10 - 2016-17 Season
13:11 - 2017 Playoffs
15:23 - 2017 Offseason
16:38 - 2017-18 Season
17:34 - 2018 Playoffs
23:23 - 2018 Offseason
23:50 - 2018-19 Season
26:16 - 2019 Offseason
26:41 - 2019-20 Season
27:07 - 2020 Playoffs
27:46 - Harden Becomes Unhappy
28:39 - Conclusion

[@AndyChamberlainMusic]

in summary: 1. James Harden failed big in a few crucial games 2. The Warriors

[@baylor06]

3. Losing Chris Paul in the 2018 WCF

[@novacounciloutsdrs4770]

@@baylor06 yea. CP3 was definitely the winning factor for them. Harden needed another major scorer on his team.

[@usaclaimsthemoon4198]

@@baylor06 losing CP3 didn’t really matter, as the year after they had CP3 and the warriors lost Kevin Durant. Warriors still won. After that, the CP3 loss argument lost all merit.

[@rinchan2645]

@@usaclaimsthemoon4198 people were talking about that particular year and particular run, doesn't mean they had the same roster, they gonna be as good they were that year

[@baylor06]

@@usaclaimsthemoon4198 bud this was a different season and CP3 was the difference maker that series

[@eesa_1980]

Harden wasn’t a disappointment. He was a bench player in OKC who got traded and single-handedly took a franchise from mediocrity to championship contention.

[@imbmg5054]

Wasn’t just any bench player he was sixth man of the year

[@MrOctober44]

That's nice. Once you you become a MVP you need to do better. His playoff record is horrible. Spin it however you want, but the Rockets didn't win as much as they should have and that's because of Harden.

[@eesa_1980]

@@MrOctober44 cool story bro

[@deewarejr6137]

@@MrOctober44that’s just not true… it’s almost like u didn’t watch the video

[@parker6049]

@@MrOctober44 the rockets also won as much as they did BECAUSE of Harden

[@Gergabscg]

I’ve never seen a team challenge the KD Warriors the way that the Harden/CP3 Rockets did. I remember watching the game when they went up 3-2 and it was amazing seeing the level of basketball that team played to get to that position. Say what you want about the Harden Rockets era but that team fought harder than any other team in the West at that time.

[@NJTDover]

😴😴😴😴🤧

[@cheeto6057]

huh? the cavs beat them

[@jaymorin3973]

@@cheeto6057 the Cavs went 1-8 against the warriors in the KD Warriors era lol what do you mean the Cavs beat them.

[@cheeto6057]

@@jaymorin3973 there was absolutely no mention of the ‘kd era’. So yes the cavs beat them

[@randomdude4045]

@@cheeto6057 the comment is about Harden/CP3s timeline and ofc it does mean KDs GSW. How hard it is for u to understand? When-Harden-and-CP3-played-tohether-KD-was-on-the-GSW. Bro u need more clue?

[@ja4309]

In summary: 2012-13: 8th seed and got knocked out by OKC (a surprise tho) 2013-14: Got beaten by an iconic Lillard 3 in Game 6 during the First Round 2014-15: Reached the WCF as a 2nd seed only to be knocked out by the Warriors 2015-16: Big turmoil and got McHale fired. Harden and Howard couldn't be on the same page and was knocked out by the Warriors 2016-17: D'Antoni basically made the offense a Harden show and made Harden himself point guard. Finished as a 3rd seed but got knocked out by the 2nd seeded Spurs 2017-18: Got CP3 and finished with 65 wins for the best record in the league. Reached the WCF but CP3 got injured and missed 27 threes consecutively to lose to the Warriors in 7. Harden won MVP 2018-19: CP3's performance declined and the Anthony experiment didn't help. Harden went nuclear to carry this team to a 4th seed. Lost to the Warriors in 6 even after they lost KD in Game 5. 2019-20: Traded CP3 for Westbrook which prompted the team to go completely small. Only reached the semis as the 4th seed and got eliminated by the Lakers. 2020-21: D'Antoni left, Westbrook got traded, and Harden would eventually follow suit, ending an 8 year stint with the team.

[@quincyreuben8652]

i shoudl be studying this saved me so much time thank you lol

[@tranewreck123]

thanks nigga

[@mariofan2867]

2017-18: If they did not chuck 27 missed 3s and they had better shot selection and didn’t panic maybe they could have won the 2018 championship.

[@2kmichaeljordan438]

@@mariofan2867 maybe? The last game in the 2019 finals was I think a 4 point difference. If the raptors barely win with klay and kd out, imagine the rockets

[@MegaDAli95]

More context is required to have a full understanding, but this is a pretty solid summary!

[@josem8907]

As a rockets fan it was disappointing never winning a ring with the Beard but would definitely not James Harden's time in H-Town a dissapointment by any means. With Harden we never truly had to worry about missing the playoffs and almost always got to watch a 50 win squad throughout his entire tenure. Yes the playoffs were a disappointment but there were great battles and it was usually exciting regardless.

[@duyanhng8430]

He pretty much guaranteed home court advantage every year

[@turbina7537]

as a knicks fan i absolutely feel you.. even tho we didnt had the same success.. it was a pleasure to watch one of the most spectacular offensive player in this century as melo..

[@truss3518]

The rockets were one of the most entertaining teams for years too, the ingenuity dantoni showed was great

[@goodmushroom]

Totally agree. Despite not winning it all, Rockets were a serious contender for years

[@howisthatgay4275]

@@turbina7537 very good comparison. Wasn’t sure exactly how to express my feelings as a rockets fan until I read your comment

[@ethanbrown4628]

Can you do the rise and the fall of victor oladipo I think that would be an amazing video

[@Tomi1k]

A very unfair rise and fall. Injury killed him, oladipo should be what jaylen brown is now. But great vid suggestion

[@akimbesswoods3149]

Tbf that should be more for Paul George version of the pacers. Victor oladipo, in my eyes, was never a #1 option, mvp caliber player, or anything like that. He’s nice and was on the come-up but then injury slowed him down. It might’ve been because I haven’t seen him play since his OKC days that much, but I never thought his pacers were dangerous.

[@UnDxfine]

I don’t think it would be that good, the story before the injury is good, but after that it’s he wanted a lot of money and didn’t get it. You can’t really finish either because we haven’t seen him play with the heat yet and he played great with the rockets he was just not talked about

[@OirichEntertainment]

^^^

[@yodaindica]

Nah

[@UeProductionz]

I've been a Rockets fan since 2004. I'm not mad at Harden for leaving nor was I ever disappointed by what he did. I can confidently say that while Harden was here I was never concerned about missing the playoffs and I knew there was a realistic chance of winning it all every year no matter how small that chance was. Harden lost to the Warriors 4 out of 5 years and there's no shame in that. The Warriors were an all time great before KD and they became legendary with KD and even then the Harden led Rockets were the only team to push the post KD Warriors past 5 games until the Clippers lost to GSW in a Game 6. GSW was simply just a better team with more good players than Houston. I hate that we never won but Harden's time in Houston was no "failure" to me.

[@dominiquejones3805]

27 missed 3s and no adjustments. CP3 knew they needed a more fluid offense & plus he wasn't engaged on plays that weren't ran 4 him

[@UeProductionz]

@@dominiquejones3805 Houston played that way all season long and through every single playoff series - win or loss. They were all good looks - they just weren't falling. The only time I think Houston needed an adjustment was the series against the Lakers with Westbrook. Other than that I think its pretty impressive that Houston, led a lone superstar in Harden, only lost by single digits against a loaded GSW squad when nobody expected them to even put up a fight anymore save for Houston fans.

[@nahor88]

This video was filled with ridiculous negativity... the Rockets would have 2 more rings if the Warriors weren't in their way. The Utah Jazz under Stockton and Malone would also have 2 rings were it not for MJ's Bulls. Guess what... the BUCKS wouldn't have a ring if the Nets were healthy last year! A huge component of championships is LUCK, which is why meriting a team on them alone is asinine.

[@LiveFreeOrDie2A]

🤦‍♂️😂 spoken like a true fan of a truly loser ass franchise like the Rockets

[@LiveFreeOrDie2A]

@nahor88 what’s asinine is the fact your comment supposedly came from a functioning human brain!.. ” _____ would have had more rings if _____ weren’t in their way”.. WTF is that supposed to even mean beyond stating what is the most basic and fundamental fact about sports themselves?.. The literal point is that there’s someone else “in your way”.. as there would be no championship to win in the first place if there wasn’t someone in your way! This is the equivalent of saying “____ would have won if ____ didn’t win”.. like, no shit!? The Warriors, Bulls, etc didn’t win multiple championships because they were “luckier” but because they were consistently better when it mattered most!

[@wenerjy]

The tale of James Harden and the Houston Rockets can be summarized with "27 consecutive missed 3's".

[@Ballfondler624]

And injured cp3

[@itsDEEZY]

I mean, it was one MVP going against 2 MVP's, an allstar/2nd greatest 3pt shooter ever, a DPOY/allstar, and an FMVP/all nba defense player by himself. the "tale" is that he was severely outgunned against the team he had to beat and came damn close despite having half the talent. People underrate how colossal of a choke it would've been if Curry/KD lost to him with the team they had.

[@cbrend22]

stop it. Harden is a career AVERAGE 3 pt shooter( exactly NBA Avg,), yet he leads the league is 3’s by far every year. Big disconnect. He’s also a complete dumpster fire on D, utterly disinterested without the ball, and is not even close to being a leader. In short, he’s an inefficient gunner who’s a turnover waiting to happen and irrelevant everywhere else. He’s changed his approach completely with NJ, but he’s still an avg 3 or shooter, lousy defender and a non-leader, but he’s less of a liability than he was in Houston. He and Westbrook are the most overrated players in the last 30 years.

[@itsDEEZY]

@@cbrend22 a bad leader? his teammates rave about his leadership year in and year out. he goes hard in the gym, even cp3 said they have to force him to not train. You're just fuckin hating lmao. If KD never goes to the warriors Harden has more rings than curry

[@itsDEEZY]

@@cbrend22 not every team utilizes offball movement. forcing a bunch of players to do it when you dont have the entire personnel to do it properly just results in a bunch of turnovers. harden lead offenses are always efficient as fuck. u just dont know basketball past what twitter tells you

[@liluzivertsson]

I still feel bad for cp3 man. 2018 was supposed to be the year but bad luck struck again. Hope he still gets another chance at a ring before he retires

[@Anti-McDojo]

He had that chance but opted his greedy antics when he intentionally sacrificed greater chance of winning last Finals by targeting to be FMVP, which costed them the win.

[@peezydabeatmonster8112]

lol cp3 just had a chance in the last finals🤔

[@xarmanhsh2981]

Floper

[@freezybreezy1001]

@@Anti-McDojo so your going to shift all the blame on Paul when all the other guys besides booker didn’t show up Paul is the facilitator but if the guys on the court besides booker aren’t showing up he has to take it in his hands and score all while being guarded by jrue and giannis the which are the beat defenders on the bucks so stop pushing false narratives cause at the end of the day the bucks were just better

[@CassCream]

I am a huge clippers fan. I hate what about-isms but I can't help but feel like some people just don't understand how good that 14-15 team was. We would hold JJ, deandre, blake, chris, and Jamal crossovers in a light different light if it weren't for bad luck. It really takes skill and a lot of luck to win a championship, that's not taking anything away from the dominant teams that have won.

[@alexlowe4442]

Any “championship” team from 2015-2019 basically stalled if they even made it to the finals because of the warriors. Like the NBA paused for a few years.

[@MegaDAli95]

Or because of LeBron

[@Nalon.1242]

Lebron owned the east warriors owned the west

[@Fatkiller22]

@@Nalon.1242 Lebron owned the east and the Warriors owned the league lol

[@kevinandrewsphoto]

@@Nalon.1242 - Lebron owned the east. The Warriors owned Lebron lol. The story of those 4 years was 3-1. Warriors won 3, Lebron won 1. But the one he won, he came back from 3-1

[@Nalon.1242]

@@kevinandrewsphoto warriors owned the cavs let's not act like wasn't outplaying most of the warriors

[@averycampos6484]

As a rockets fan ...this hurts but looking forward to our future with our new youngsters.

[@jesusname3028]

Same

[@DaudGonzalez]

couldn't imagine being a rockets fan. I pray for you everyday

[@truss3518]

Longest active nba win streak I mean 😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@juliansmith4153]

Same here man, have faith in Sengun and Stone's eye for hidden talent

[@Snickerszn]

Jalen green and whoever they get this next draft is gonna be awesome. Hopefully they can save cap room from building from the draft so they can get good pieces.

[@DrewbyDooby]

As a rockets fan, the harden years were absolutely not a disappointment at all. They were consistently championship contenders throughout his whole time here, fun to watch, and would have 1 ring at the absolute least if they didn’t happen to run into the greatest team ever constructed. (Also, the refs didn’t help in game 7, but thats a story for another day.) Overall, I’m happy i got to watch my favorite team play as good as they did for the last decade. A ring looks good on a Wikipedia page but the experiences are what really count.

[@Airjabz]

all he did was keep them relevant, now they suck a$$

[@jjuzimackin8941]

Sure

[@DrewbyDooby]

@@Airjabz 7 game win streak rn bud

[@parkerletterman2051]

@@Airjabz 7 game streak?

[@daveyap9317]

Lol right even refs love to play with the rockets.

[@paraminderdhanota9810]

Obviously the Thunder were dumb to trade harden, but people are sleep to the fact that Kevin Martin was really good for them for a couple years. The trade wasn't just for Jeremy Lamb and picks, that is a massive understatement because the purpose of the trade was to get Martin, a young wing in Lamb, and picks, one of which was Steven Adams.

[@myleslondon5220]

Lol harden would never develop right if he stayed with OKC ig he could of became a Manu type player

[@paraminderdhanota9810]

@@myleslondon5220 Thats not even true. Harden's game was developed by his third year in OKC, he just needed reps as the guy. He wouldn't get that with KD and Russ. Problem is Harden was better than Russ, and OKC didn't see it.

[@pistolpete3199]

Problem is none of that matters. They clearly was MUCH better with Harden on the team. Sure he wouldn’t probably the harden that we know today but it’s foolish to think he couldn’t still average 20+ with 5-8 assist a game and a few boards had he stayed on OKC that was Russ and Harden best chance to win with a player like Durant. Sure they both have chances now.. but it’s not they BEST one.

[@paraminderdhanota9810]

@@pistolpete3199 make that 25 and 5 lool frfr

[@myleslondon5220]

@@paraminderdhanota9810 true if harden would start then ig he could be an all star type player but he would never reach his full potential in okc, but ya they should of just payed the dude

[@martino5742]

The Dwight Howard rockets were the most fun recent rockets, similar to how Embiid's first playing season was when the Sixers were the most fun (what I call the Stauskas era), and the 2018 hospital Celtics were the most fun. Tons of energy, boundless potential, but not actually threatening yet lol

[@mansourhaddad398]

Hospital Celtics 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@YungFozz]

Nick the sauce bro those were the times

[@dwaynehoward240]

That maybe the funniest short line of all time.. hospital celtics..

[@dwaynehoward240]

😆😅🤣😂😀😃😄😁

[@Mr4Ferrari]

everyone seems to like the underdog on the comeup but then when they reach the top cant wait to knock em off

[@sufyaankhan4686]

James Harden certainly did not play poor against the warriors in 2019, he played even better than the 2018 series. Him and Durant led the league in scoring in the post season of 2019

[@hadisoultan7502]

You name is right, you are a casual😂

[@sufyaankhan4686]

@@hadisoultan7502 how can u say he played poor when he stepped up his performance or you can say played as well as his 2019 regular season. He even played well in game 6, Chris Paul who’s as dealing with injuries, did not

[@offbrand4648]

@@sufyaankhan4686 yeah I agree

[@user-dp8ij2ev3f]

@@sufyaankhan4686 Harden was incredible in 2019, but he wasn’t anywhere near that level in 2018. Sure he had good averages 28.6 6.8 and 5.2 but it was on piss poor efficiency. 41% FG and 29.9% 3P and 3.8 TOPG. His FT% brought his TS% up to an ok 54%. He also shot 24.4% from 3 in the WCF that year.

[@sufyaankhan4686]

@@user-dp8ij2ev3f nah, everyone played shit that series lol, just check out the stats, everyones averages was down. But ye he was, but 2019, he was the second best player that series behind Durant, or if you WANT to argue, better

[@stephenishola6205]

Despite his shortcomings in the playoffs.. Huston Harden was fun as hell to watch.. especially playing with him on 2k 15-2k18 dude was unstoppable and the teams were fun as well to play with.

[@MoniqueXSM]

Video series suggestion: a Year in Review for every NBA season over the last 10 yrs. Each year gets its own review. So, it would cover the big moments (& some of the small ones) in each season, kinda like how a TV show gives recaps before the start of a new season.

[@kristiyammaguccibaby7708]

I want someone to do this with soccer cause I haven’t wantched for 2 years and I’m so lost to what’s happening with teams and players

[@MoniqueXSM]

@@kristiyammaguccibaby7708 I can definitely see the need for it. Hopefully someone comes through for you with the recap.

[@LeStephanie69]

@@MoniqueXSM horrible idea. Nice try though.

[@DiegoMartinez-nx2cc]

As a rockets fan this brings tears of joy and sadness

[@truss3518]

Remember how it was not how it could have been

[@henryviiifake8244]

For me, it all comes down to THAT WCF game against GSW where the Rockets missed 27 threes _IN A ROW_ with Harden on the floor. The Rockets lost that game by 9 points, so they could have still missed _23_ consecutive threes and won by a point. 💀 (Edit: corrected 12pts to 9pts and 21 shots to 23 shots; which technically makes things even worse)

[@adeeltheking123]

They lost by 9 points and the refs were trash that game

[@subscribo2059]

The warriors payed the refs that game

[@dominiquejones3805]

Isaiah Thomas told Max the Warriors score 5 ways but the Rockets only score 2 ways & that game cemented how incomplete and stubborn they were

[@henryviiifake8244]

@@adeeltheking123 The refs cannot make you miss shots. Let alone twenty seven shots. *In a row.* The Rockets only had to score a few of those threes to be in the Finals, no matter how bad the refs were.

[@i0nknownun]

Damn niggas still on that game😭😭😭😭rockets fans sick

[@chuckyjamesamartin1968]

The Warriors finished game 6 of the 2018 WCF on a 93-47 run over the last 3 quarters and held Houston to 25 in the second HALF.

[@Itsjstlaw_]

It was sad as a CP3 fan when he got injured and the Rockets had a lead in game 7 then they missed 27 threes straight

[@TyBrezzy11]

alot of fouls tho

[@abet317l.3]

one of the worst officiating in history. It was aweful. Blatant fouls not called while Harden shoots 3s.

[@dominiquejones3805]

CP3 knew they needed 2 run a more fluid style. Ill never 4get the game Harden was out & CP3 dissected the Warriors

[@haydotzero3372]

We know if Cp3 had not gotten injured, he would have controlled that game and there would have never been no 27 3 pointers missed

[@daveyap9317]

Sadly Iggy was injured also it would be end in game 6

[@Gio-pb5rm]

Oof. As a Houston Fan and native. This is going to be hard to watch. Injuries, drama, and the warriors 😭

[@patsayjack402]

Say it with your chest WAARRRIIIORRRSS

[@nirdeep07]

@@patsayjack402 we get it. Ur a warriors bandwagon

[@truss3518]

F the warriors lol

[@Jimmy_Vee]

@@nirdeep07 LMAO. When the Warriors start winning you become a bandwagon. Love to see it👏🏼🤣

[@nirdeep07]

@@Jimmy_Vee no-one said anything about the warriors negatively yet u guys just want to promote negativity in the comments. And then wonder why everyone hates u bandwagons

[@jrad410]

For Rockets fans it still hurts to this day. That 2017-18 season I’m convinced we woulda won it all had CP3 stayed healthy. The local sports radio was depressing after the loss

[@bb1111116]

At Huston Harden was coached by Mike D’Antoni. Coach D’Antoni has failed to win a championship or even get to the finals in a long NBA coaching career. Why? 1. He never calls set plays or even tells players specifics about what to do. In the playoffs opposing coaches can key on stopping D’Antoni teams & Mike can’t adjust to that. 2. D’Antoni has never been a good defensive coach. 3. D’Antoni uses short rotations & by the playoffs he often burns out players. Kobe’s Achilles injury being a big example. 4. D’Antoni is terrible at coaching bigs which is why he ended up not using them. ** D’Antoni has been influential. Coaches like Steve Kerr have taken ideas from D’Antoni but Kerr is a lot more flexible. Kerr will tell his players what to do. He calls plays & uses structured systems (like the triangle). He uses longer rotations. He focuses on defense. He uses bigs effectively. Same thing with Greg Popovich. No surprise that Kerr & Popovich repeatedly beat D’Antoni teams in the playoffs.

[@jaystacks5249]

I see you know the game. Great post

[@tiernancollins3730]

how can you say that when the rockets were really good they just played the best team of all time dantoni ran an offense built around the three which is why the would "choke" so much by getting blown out live by the 3 die by the 3 and now in this years playoffs almost everygame is a blowout because everyone is doing it

[@ImBarryScottCSS]

It's really hard to build a team around him. With the ball in hand he is a phenomenal player and capable of winning any game. But that ain't worth a thing if everyone double teams you in the playoffs and you never get a chance to win games because you're always down 20 in the 4th. It was really difficult to get good performances out of his teammates in the system D'Antoni ran. Even CP3 looked fairly average alongside James and you saw how good he looked when he left. He's an all time piece playing in a system that doesn't work in today's NBA. He has shown in Brooklyn that he can be a much less ball dominant player in the right system, why didn't Houston do that? People blame Harden but I think it had more to do with the coach tbh.

[@TheRafaelBond]

It is actually super, super easy to build a team around him...

[@dominiquejones3805]

Dribble the air out that ball & he wasn't engaged n plays of he's not shooting

[@Os3000gt]

@@TheRafaelBonda year late but I am very curious, how would you build a team around harden?

[@Korijenkins1414]

How he failed: ran into the greatest team ever assembled multiple times in the playoffs. If the 2015-2019 Rockets are playing against teams in any other time they probably win 2 titles.

[@mr.bojangles9215]

As a warriors fan I remember those games in the post season against the rockets. We all considered those to be the real finals cause the rockets were a much tougher team then anything we faced coming out of the east

[@Necro-md8vf]

@@mr.bojangles9215 the cavs always gave you guys so much more competition tho except for 2018 maybe. That'll be like saying the pacers gave the heat more trouble than anything coming out the west

[@mr.bojangles9215]

@@Necro-md8vf only twice did the cavs give any problems in the finals, the two years before KD. And I would consider the second year that the cavs won more of an implosion on the warriors end. They were domination the series and just fell apart

[@Necro-md8vf]

@@mr.bojangles9215 But surely more than the rockets did they had only one close series

[@redpillfreedom6692]

Excuses, excuses. They could have gone up 3-0 on the Warriors in 2018 but Harden choked at the end. They had 15 point lead in Game 7 even without CP3 and then proceeded to build a brick house. The Warriors lost Durant in Game 5 in 2019. And instead of smelling blood in the water like a true killer, Harden vanished down the stretch with a chance to go back to Houston up 3-2. Then they lost Game 6 even though Curry didn't score in the 1st half and Durant didn't play. Harden choked. Period.

[@okanlawonevans2301]

Shhhhesh, this video was so legit. Its rare i watch a full 30 minute video ads and all start to finish. Superb job my man

[@newjoint7800]

man your channel is so cool i mean the way u put every story is sum diffrent keep it up

[@taysiiroozeer5911]

I will always have love for Harden as a Houston fan, despite his less than ceremonious exit. I hope he wins a ring with the Nets for all he did for us

[@Anti-McDojo]

Nope he will not. Steph Curry or Giannis might win 4th or 2nd rings, respectively before Brooklyn will. Durant is not as elite as Kobe, Duncan, LeBron or MJ. He always needs GSW to actually win.

[@2kmichaeljordan438]

@@Anti-McDojo he would’ve made it to the finals if his shoe size was tinier. The nets would’ve 100% beat the hawks, but idk if they’d beat the suns

[@Anti-McDojo]

@@2kmichaeljordan438 , LeBron James could beat Steph in 2015 if Kyrie wasn't injured. It's either you'll accept both reasons for LeBron and KD or you're raised by a hypocrite by your parents for being a double standard girl, right?

[@itsDEEZY]

@@Anti-McDojo giannis is only a champion because 80% of the leagues allstars got hurt last year lol the nets were missing like $90m worth of their roster and he still almost lost to them. hawks were cooking them too before they got injured. hawks were so injured the bucks didnt even need giannis to beat them by the end.

[@turbina7537]

bro taysiir you gotta love your franchise before the players... the rockets gave him everything he wanted in order to success and then he just walks away leaving them in garbage.... guys like harden, KD and kyrie are the DIVA face of the soft modern nba

[@Puchendante]

I love your videos, always instant classics, you're gonna get far fr

[@xiilogiciix4614]

I love these videos Dylan is such a good storyteller 🙂

[@dannydevito4338]

As a die-hard Thunder fan, yes even now, I can attest that his time with us is the most disappointing. How a prime Westbrook, Harden, and Durant do not win a championship is baffling.

[@dominiquejones3805]

$4million dollars smfh

[@888leoo]

Ever heard of LeBron James and Dirk Nowitzski?

[@jeffreysung9632]

They were all inexperienced and were playing teams with tons of experience

[@Snickerszn]

Lol he was 22 when he left the thunder! They weren’t in there primes dummy. Your franchise messed up and didn’t want the luxury tax blame your cheap owners.

[@shipitplease99999]

If Okc kept harden instead of westbrooke, they would have won a title. No one can win a title with westbrooke on their team. His iq is too low in clutch moments.

[@ab7clips441]

These videos are so good bro Keep on doing them 🙏🙏

[@andrewbucci]

This is a great new channel. Keep it up Dylan!

[@MrTmac1122]

What a fun time in my life. Thanks for all the memories. Good and bad.

[@joelv92]

Excellent video!

[@odiehughes9890]

The person I feel for as well in this story is Mike D'Antoni. He coached an offensive juggernaut that arguably was the greatest team he ever assembled. No disrespect to the 05' suns though. D'Antoni time and time again has made deep playoff runs as a coach but come up short. He was on the doorstep of finally breaking though as a coach, only to end in the same tough fate it always has for him.

[@oddking1]

That 2018 collapse had me so frustrated and I wasn’t even a rockets fan I was just mad for both Harden and CP3

[@dominiquejones3805]

CP3 knew they needed 2 run a more fluid offense

[@Pokesabbath]

Bro these are bangers keep em coming 💯

[@KillTakeoff]

Your narrations on point not to much words but not to little gives enough info that even without watching just by listening can understand and imagine everything I’ve been using your vids to get through the work day I’m almost done😢

[@OMG-si3wn]

Bruh stop slacking off at work

[@OllieRancor]

The goat back

[@imaaduddin7715]

Hardens years with Houston was nothing but enjoyment as a rockets fan, every night you would see him do something incredible. We were a top 4 team in the west and a 50+ win team every year with alone. Obviously we had some tough years in the playoffs but one man cannot beat a flawless super team like the warriors alone and that was his only obstacle. I’m rooting for him in Brooklyn, he’s my favorite player ever and I hope he wins his ring, shuts up all his haters which he has a lot of and maybe return to Houston one day where he can end his legendary career.

[@andy_collins91]

These are so good man thanx

[@bigbearwoods3956]

ur videos are top tier keep it up always happy to see u upload a new story

[@enthusiastofcute]

How the Rockets failed to win a championship: Golden State Warriors exist

[@ja4309]

You could say that for a lot of contending team lmao. They basically destroyed the Cavs, Blazers, and Rockets and sent them back to either rebuild mode or are just fringe playoff teams. At least the Cavs are looking well for the future, the Blazers are just a fringe playoff team, and the Rockets are still getting it all together

[@enthusiastofcute]

@@ja4309 That’s what dynasties do. Make their would be contenders into mere footnotes

[@futuregohan4837]

If The Warriors Didn't Exist

[@OfficialJPryde]

We should really mention that Harden is naturally a point guard. Yet the rockets have never surrounded him with *any* wing talent and his only notable big man was slightly past-prime Dwight/young Capela. There was always eventually going to be conflict in play styles with 2 ball dominant guards/playmakers and they threw in CP3 & Russ.

[@MarlonT]

Love your videos man. Keep it up!

[@justluka7590]

not really into NBA but love ur vids man, they're always interesting to watch

[@sydguitar99]

Going to multiple deep playoff runs against the super team warriors when even LeBron couldn't even beat them is a big accomplishment to Harden. No one in the media even thought they make 5 games

[@peezydabeatmonster8112]

lol uhm the media had them winning after iggy got injured and rockets won the next 2 games and every other year the media had them over the warriors without KD even in 2019

[@aristotlejones2469]

@@peezydabeatmonster8112 what the media thinks is irrelevant (this is to both of you). Logically, the Warriors were still better than the Rockets even without KD. People forgot how good Curry was before KD. Also, people forgot how talented Klay/Dray are

[@jh134mvp8]

@@aristotlejones2469 exactly lol golden state had a 73% win percentage without KD when he was in golden state. Them dudes were really fucking good

[@Teammttm]

@@peezydabeatmonster8112false, the media continues to pick the Warriors even without iggy

[@josiahgardener2373]

Another great video

[@luccadonataofalci738]

love your videos man, keep up the good work

[@allan7978]

To be fair to him, he has always been losing to a superteam no one could beat. The 2020 lakers were also no joke.

[@Le_Tribb]

Even the Spurs?

[@karanveerdhillon7867]

If he only ever lost to superteams or teams far better than his then it would be excusable, but he chokes consistently against teams that he should beat or even destroy, it’s a pattern with him

[@Josh2cold_]

That 2020 lakers team was literally double teaming him the whole series

[@allan7978]

@@karanveerdhillon7867 the Warriors, 67 win Spurs and the Lakers are teams he should destroy??

[@justsomedudewithnoneck8329]

@@karanveerdhillon7867 bro the only time he shouldn’t have lost was against dame but lebron and curry wasn’t letting nobody have fun during the 2010s😂

[@danyheatleyall-star3677]

The fact that content like this is on a free viewing platform is insane

[@tylerhoang7537]

Keep up the amazing work!

[@44Bird]

This guy in my top 5 basketball you tubers all time already and I only been watching for a few months

[@joeleowmusic]

Love your content mate. Great in-depth overview over a long timeline. Love from Denmark🇩🇰

[@kieranr5676]

I've always felt that Harden is one of the most disrespected superstars of all time. I mean, I get that people don't like him shooting so many free throws but what this man has done is historical. Sixth man of the year and MVP (he should have at least 2 more) 3x scoring leader. 1x assist leader. Only player to record a 60 point triple double. Only player to record a 40 point triple double while playing less than 30 minutes. Only player to score over 30 points against every team in one season. One of two players to be responsible for 90+ points in a game (the other being Wilt). One of two players to have at least 2 games of 50 points, 10 assists and 10 rebounds in a single season. Only player in NBA history to record at least 2,000 points, 900 assists and 600 rebounds in a single season. Oh.... and most wins against the KD-era Warriors.

[@Charlie-jf1me]

He has the number of MVPs he deserves, and he's not disrespected so much his play style has never lead to wins

[@kieranr5676]

@@Charlie-jf1me Never lead to wins? Rockets with Harden were always a solid team. They just kept running into the Warriors

[@mosesdevadass6056]

Honestly, the past couple of years I haven’t been liking him as a person. Always finding ways to force himself out of situations and somehow still being a problem. He’s a great player but if he can’t do it on the Sixers I can’t really call him one of the best shooting guards given all the opportunities he got.

[@jacksonbashiri8118]

@@mosesdevadass6056 even if he never win a chip he’s a top 5 sg if he does he’s at least 4th and arguably 3rd

[@mosesdevadass6056]

@@jacksonbashiri8118 All time? Maybe modern era, at most. The thing with Harden is that he’s the problem. I know Harden is a good sg, but he’s not great because I really haven’t seen him be able to lead a team. There’s great players that haven’t won a ring, but those players were exponentially better as a player, teammate, and as a person, compared to Harden. Edit: Maybe scratch that person part. Some of them are questionable

[@ronniepajas1872]

well done, i enjoyed it very much

[@Riqq44]

My guy amazing video. Super valid points and arguments.

[@inidbil7277]

These dynasties make other teams in the league feel hopeless. When Magic's lakers and Bird's Celtics were trading championships no other teams had anything going. Then Jordan's Bulls took over for 6 rings and all the other teams ...hopeless. The Shaq and kobe lakers went on a 3 peat before that fell apart but kobe got 2 more and Shaq got 1 with DADE. In recent memory it's been LeBron and then steph came on the scene. (Kd was like hey let me join you steph lol) people forget steph beat both kd and LeBron and was 1 possession away from beating LeBron in 2016.

[@nick0875]

The Bad Boy Pistons were up for the challenge of the Magic Lakers and Bird Celtics and beat up Jordan's Bulls until Chicago came out on top in 91. And even the Shaq and Kobe Lakers had to share the West with the Duncan Spurs, for a while the West had either the Spurs or Lakers making it to the Finals.

[@meansnothing4373]

i think calling him playing in houston a "Failure" is a bad take Almost every year he had to deal with Co-Stars being injured and Facing teams better than his, Could he have done better? obv but im not angry at a guy Losing against KD Curry/ Lebron AD when his co star is injured, 50 wins almost every year and a loot of deep playoffs runs not a Failure imo

[@abet317l.3]

I think it was 2019 when almost everyone was injured and he had a revolving door of teammates from gleague and anywhere. Yet they keep on winning with him going full socring God. dropping 50's almost every night.

[@dominiquejones3805]

27 missed 3s smfh if they adjusted there is a good chance they could have won

[@pedroramirez0824]

Kobe ran thru the west in 2010 vs Nash & Amare, then VS Duncan, tony parker and manu, and then KD and Russ... and in the finals vs Bostons big three i dont wanna hear it. James failed as a superstar in Houston

[@ihavenocommonsensebut2008]

@@pedroramirez0824 KD & Curry better than all the teams you listed

[@haydotzero3372]

No James Harden is just a ball hog. Assuming he played the way he did last year with Brooklyn, they would have won. Whether Chris Paul was injured or not, he had the chance to close out the game. He had Eric Gordon who was not a bad starter or off the bench player

[@iLuvGaming]

Love these I know they take a lot of effort and time to make

[@TomasSowellIsGreat]

Great channel

[@yz2553]

“Harden is going to go down in history as one of the greatest chockers who ever lived “ had me dying bruh 😂😂😂

[@Edward-ju1vj]

There have been a lot of great players on terrible teams. And when terrible things happen, its never the terrible players who get the blame.

[@mamba3805]

Quality content yet again bro

[@lemancemossjr3935]

the narrating big captivating 😂 glued like I ain't know none of this

[@nintendoconvert4045]

I really hope James Harden shakes this reputation one day. He is too skilled to let his legacy boil down to choking in big games.

[@mydogsnameislucy768]

It’s crazy how this team changed their fans. I remember my cousin always being a lifelong Rockets fan through all our struggles. But something about getting so close and realistically being the favorite had we made the finals really turned him away. Now he’s all “We won’t sniff another championship for years” as if that wasn’t the case before and acts like they betrayed him. It’s so weird to me. He acts like us forcing Harden to stay and play where doesn’t want to would’ve been better than rebuilding. Harden was never going to win a ring here after CP3 left so I say let’s start the path towards our next contender. 🤷🏽‍♂️

[@wesleyflocka]

Loving the content man

[@Djwasntthere-]

These are some great videos

[@RowShawnBow]

I just found your channel, and I like these videos that are structured in a way where they’re almost like, the lore of NBA Basketball history. Also, I realized what James Harden has done wrong his whole career, he’s always try do things his way, which of course, shouldn’t mean he’s not going to win a chip, but he’s not active enough, it’s like he thinks it’s his job. I don’t know if this is correct, obviously, but let’s have a discussion.

[@josiahrhandellfrancisco3980]

How James Harden failed to win a championship, Curry Exist

[@DARC-87]

Speaking as a Clevelander, I sure would've loved to play the Rockets in The Finals a time or two from '15-18.

[@JohnCena-zm2mt]

I love ur vids man keep up the amazing work 🤟

[@suleimandahu2811]

As a rockets fan it would never stop hurting how cp3 went down in 2018 when we truly had a chance

[@g_superson1c255]

5:03 the fact that every playoff team in the west basically won 50 games in 2014 still blows my mind

[@jaystacks5249]

Crazy good basketball that season in the west. Unbelievable

[@glennquagmire9737]

that was when i was a huuuuge fan of the NBA. Huge!!!

[@g_superson1c255]

@@glennquagmire9737 same bro that’s the season I fell in love with the nba

[@g_superson1c255]

@@jaystacks5249 there were so many round 1 game 7’s that year too

[@laflamejm271]

Underrated channel

[@JacobPikulski]

Great vid !!!

[@foolishgenius]

I really hate that you called Dwight Howard lazy especially since in that offseason where he sign with the Lakers he had disc surgery in his back I hate that people call him lazy when he played with the Lakers and the rockets he just wasn't mobile enough coming off of the back surgery

[@lewiyonas3255]

Honestly man I can’t hate on harden, no matter how many 2-11 games he’s had he still one of the greatest of all time, he took us to 2 conference finals and was unlucky because of a warriors dynasty, we thought we’d never get anything better than McGrady and ming and we were blown away, I still remember when we got him from okc I knew we had something great

[@187mrsmith]

There's a famous saying that fits this perfectly "the quicker you get there the quicker you go" those Houston Rockets became championship contenders overnight therefore they window was gone like Cinderella!

[@jkmaster345]

How the hell does dylan have ove 1 million views and only 40k subs get this man to 100k by next December I swear to God man. Unseen potential in this man's content

[@edmarfranzmarfil3307]

As a houston fan its unfair to call his run disappointment. Houston never miss playoff since he got there

[@antonioputina6883]

Yeah man but when you have a Team with soooo much pontential for the NBA trophy, so many eyes are on you. The world expects you to do massive plays. For example, if Nets will not win the NBA Finals this season, they will be hardly criticised by the whole NBA media

[@meansnothing4373]

@@antonioputina6883 i mean this would be it if they didnt went against the warriors + injuries but i feel u

[@ThomasCrovvn]

Missed 27 straight 3s?

[@irishock]

@@antonioputina6883 What potential? They were never the favorites in any year. They were always underdogs against GSW, Spurs and Lakers

[@justsomedudewithnoneck8329]

@@irishock even if they made it lebron wasn’t gonna let harden beat him 😂

[@manontheemooon2335]

Also calling Dwight “lazy” in LA is a shit take, he had a bad back, I’d love to see you go out there and try to do the same with a bad back that requires surgery.

[@getplayed7272]

Damn that was malicious 💀

[@ym968]

Yeah agreed that was just a stupid thing to say

[@MrJharpomax]

People aren’t that smart

[@bobharley1]

He was lazy not developing other skills that modern bigs need to prolong their careers. Which is why he aged so poorly. At least with Bynum, who was considered the 2nd best center after him, had finesse to make up for the lack of athleticism. Kobe regretting calling D12 out on not performing well on a bad back but D12 didn't try to evolve his game in Houston either.

[@alexlowe4442]

Stfu when Kobe yelling at you for not working hard enough you’re lazy you don’t hear stories of him yelling at Nash do you? No, because even when Nash was older he’d work his ass of to perfect his craft.

[@markc8329]

i'll never forget those two games that my Spurs won with the Ginobili block followed by the absolute collapse of Harden against the Spurs' second stringers

[@LonelyHoops]

nice video well commentated

[@999triple4]

Harden put all his energy into the regular season but couldn’t do the same in the playoffs

[@casualstone920]

James Harden trying to win the ring is like me trying to build healthy relationships 😂😢

[@shrieked]

ur so underrated bro

[@notmytruthTHEtruth]

Watching this video again, I can't imagine Dylan's happy about the latest trade.

[@ANGELOFDARKification]

He didnt want to move or play off ball enough. It was also D'antoni's system tbf.

[@maxazzopardi7446]

As a diehard Warriros fan, I still have trouble seeing replays of games 4 and 5 from this series even though we won. The Rockets would of beat us if Chris Paul did not get hurt.

[@artanderson4240]

Maybe...maybe NOT. We'll never know.😁😁

[@xxcheeznutzxx5245]

As a Warriors fan, no, they wouldn’t have lmao. The next year they had CP3 and the Warriors didn’t have Durant and they still lost.

[@maxazzopardi7446]

​@@xxcheeznutzxx5245 That's a very good point. The following year's results always are a good indicator of the previous year's results

[@OMG-si3wn]

​@@maxazzopardi7446 not really their chemistry was shot at that point

[@0AEROPLANES0]

UR THE BEST NBA KZbinR IDC

[@urbaindelva7869]

I believe that if Harden had a coach other than Mike D'Antoni and a GM other than Daryl Morey, he would have brought another championship to Houston. It's disappointing that they did not win a title, but it was a success overall. Guy made basketball fun to watch in Houston again.

[@ziggle5000]

The most damning thing to me is that the one huge comeback the rockets made in the playoffs during his tenure happened entirely with him on the bench cause he'd already mentally checked out of the game. James Harden will never be able to erase needing to be carried by a miraculous game 6 second half from Josh Smith and Corey Brewer of all people against the Clips in '15

[@Teammttm]

But he had a great game 5 with a triple double and 31 7 and 8 in game 7, he deserve a great credit for this comeback, he was the reason why Houston have won game 5 and game 7

[@NOB6677]

No need for 30 mins, it’s because of the warriors

[@battlecriedsaturated1955]

fav creator

[@siriusblack7714]

As a die hard rockets fan for 20 plus years I have watches harden choke in huge moments more times then I can count on my fingers. Harden amazing during the regular seasons and even in the playoffs to an extent but boy I tell you that man would fold in make or break moments and it was tough to watch.

[@goda7137]

It will tough to watch facing the warriors with it's super team and other side in east with lebron James. Which do you prefer the super team warriors or Lebron superteam.

[@tj5180]

Finally someone who admits that.

[@jaystacks5249]

Finally someone says it

[@jaystacks5249]

@@goda7137 bro you had harden cp3 ariza capela and Eric Gordon. More than enough to beat the warriors. Especially when Mchale was the coach but we know why he got fired right. Harden needed a coach not a guy who lets him do whatever on offense and give less than half on defense. Mchales year was hardens best defensively and if he stuck with it the results could be different

[@OfficialJPryde]

@@jaystacks5249 more than enough?? Huh? The only thing I would agree with is that I wish Harden still used his midrange like when McHale was there, it made him less predictable in the playoffs. But he NEVER had the more talented team.

[@JustAnAccountLmao810]

Calling him a choker is honestly unfair , imagine if the warriors wasnt the warriors .. he would have a ring or two

[@countpuchi]

Not that unfair though. If any in alot of instances he really did choke.

[@itsDEEZY]

@@countpuchi it's crazy that losing to a team with KD, Curry, Draymond, Klay, and Iggy is a "choke" for him but anyone else it's expected. Damian Lillard never won a game on Curry but he's seen as clutch lmao

[@jac6548]

@@itsDEEZY That's because Damian Lillard never had any true championship expectations placed on him, so nobody cares when he loses

[@ryanw9122]

@@itsDEEZY the thing is it's literally a choke because they were leading at the half and ended up getting blown out

[@TyBrezzy11]

@@ryanw9122 better roster