Unguardable | The Story Behind James Harden

NBA fans have come to know James Harden as one of the finest offensive superstars we've ever seen. But Harden wasn't always projected to be the kind of alpha star who’s factored into virtually every MVP race over the last eight years. So how did the guy drafted after Hasheem Thabeet go from Sixth Man of the Year to NBA MVP?
Written & Narrated by: Joseph Casciaro (@JosephCasciaro | Twitter)
Produced & Edited by: Brandon Jordan (@BrandonJordan3 | Instagram)
Thumbnail Design by: Daniel Long (@DloSupreme | Instagram)
Courtesy List: pastebin.com/tEZHL95w
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#NBA #JamesHarden #HoustonRockets

[@jalenbrunsonfan]

They should've called this "Stepback" because that's Harden's signature move and your taking a step back in time for the story.

[@pirmaiscalispagalma1479]

Okay, Buckets of Epicness

[@1ghettoluxury]

Ironic how you find a good name for this but not yourself

[@amyjackson674]

This is the best video on James Harden on KZbin, period. People just hate on him without knowing his story of how actually good of a player he is.

[@geeet_eth]

This is the best video on James Harden on KZbin, period. People just hate on him without knowing his story of how actually good of a player he is.

[@bennyjumpman2386]

This is great that you made this like not even trolling I appreciate this!!

[@dyunggoon7726]

Same 6ig 6ruh underrated

[@therahulabraham]

Imagine if he didn’t have to come off the bench for the first 4 years of his career....

[@capricebandicoot_]

I swear he was traded to Houston in his 4th year?

[@neoxsupreme]

@@capricebandicoot_ You're right.

[@jhk3172]

the coup is retarded Karl Malone has 3500 more ft than him and lebron got 1100 more than him, stop listening what people tell you and think for yourself, Giannis is I think on pace to have the most free throws in a career

[@neoxsupreme]

@@jhk3172 James Harden has played 828 games in 11 seasons and he has made 6252 FTs which equates to 7.6 FTM/game . Karl Malone made 5924 in his first 11 seasons (898 games) which is 6.6 FTM/game. Harden is making 1 more FTM/game than the Mailman despite Harden getting off to a slow start in his career coming off the bench his first 3 seasons with OKC. Harden is easily on track to shatter Malone's FTM All-time record considering Harden is also an 86% FT shooter compared to Malone's 74%. Harden has lead the league in FTM the passed 6 seasons and Malone lead the league in 8 seasons for the totality of his career. Harden has many more seasons left in his career.

[@jhk3172]

neoxsupreme damn nigga did 5 hours of deep research to type this, I don’t get why people take away from harden because of free throws if you look at the goats they all got to the line a lot because when someone is tough to guard you naturally tend to foul them so they don’t beat you

[@TheJuiceAlert]

I really hope James Harden wins a title before his career ends 💯. The guy is so gifted it would be ashamed if he gets forgotten bc he never won a ring. I think Houston has a good shot this year. He & Russell Westbrook seem to be on a mission 💯

[@luisleon1411]

:/

[@bigbuddahmane]

Hind sight is always 2020.......... :/

[@kyogurorengoku3766]

Nets are crazy and he’s a part of em 💯

[@kyogurorengoku3766]

@Varzann Amaria LMFAO EXACTLY

[@kingjeason]

@Varzann Amaria mmhhh no 😅

[@Vergel520]

He is widely disrespected by alot of nba fans, I do hope he wins a chip and get the real recognition he deserves. 👌🚀👑🧙‍♂️

[@camh1809]

If he gets a ring he will shut all the haters up. Can't wait for that day not only for Harden, but for the city and Westbrook

[@angry-pr0d704]

@@camh1809 Hope it willbbe this year

[@camh1809]

@@angry-pr0d704 the closest he's ever got was in the 2018 WCF. That day that CP3 went down is possibly worse than the day we got eliminated by the Blazers in the first round

[@Kevinschart]

if he deserved it he would've won it by now. he doesn't deserve a chip.

[@WiLlCBJPdd]

@@Kevinschart u make no sense

[@trent160jr6]

I'm surprised he didn't have a beard wen he was a child 😂😂😂

[@capalottaway4932]

bruh when he came out of the womb he had a beard like me. the cameras just werent on

[@Sbzmike]

Lmfaooooooo fr. It just weird to see him without his beard 😂

[@x-SDL-x]

Dang! HARDEN don’t look like him without the BEARD. 😂

[@air_bill23onig88]

One of the best sports channels out there no cap. I dont understand how you only have 21k subs

[@8Trails50]

Cause its a sports channel in canada lol

[@versatillion15]

Why you counting his subs

[@TheNLSClan]

This is well put together! 💯

[@brandblue8980]

Thank you for this video project & Thank you James Harden for the greatness on & off the court thru it all.

[@far06c]

Great video!

[@NaaFr]

Needed this 🐐🙏🏽

[@happytorpedo9288]

The score really be proving itself as a GOAT sports channel

[@cddcristobal]

love these videos!

[@rocky8838]

"Harden, who will soon turn 32." You took all that time to make the video and get the stats, but didn't check out that he's 30 until the 26th of August?

[@diegol3131]

One of the best videos I’ve ever seen

[@jerickabas9470]

It all started when he tells his mom to wake him up for him to work hard and till then he does it everyday. He's always on fire 🔥

[@pilscy242]

5:08 watching this shot live was a basketball moment ill never forget

[@willhowson1729]

honestly im happy to see harden on the rockets, his career wouldve been so different on the thunder and the new narratives we got from his trade i think are better than another dynasty wouldve been

[@calamorta]

I don't get how this channel is still so "small". They have a channel about esports (same name but + "esports") that is just as good and that channel is massive. This one puts some top content and doesn't get 10% of the recognition... Both are great. Keep it up.

[@crisclay2678]

Bro idc what harden was projected as , if u saw the man in colleg, he was cooking way back then

[@safiurrehman7661]

PLEASE DO AN EPISODE ON RUSSEL WESTBROOK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@E4MB]

the okc super team vs warriors super team games would’ve been beautiful

[@Kingcole6740]

KD only playing offense for both teams

[@dimmie5240]

This was a greatly informative video. I should show this to my friends every time they say that Harden chokes in the playoffs.

[@iambarryallen]

Living legend.

[@Kazeon]

I first noticed him in some random ballislife compilation video, just one clip, back when he's rocking the fro.. I swear I could sense the guy would be something in the future, just by reading his name and seeing how smooth his handles were..

[@Bigdaddy-nh7mb]

Well he been playing some solid ass defense and playing good in the playoffs!

[@deepshakya7158]

KD, Westbrook and Harden in same team........ it seems like a dream now.

[@nicolascage7345]

He has actually become underrated

[@camh1809]

Not underrated, just overHATED

[@howisthatgay4275]

Lol Harden in HS and College is damn near unrecognizable. Both appearance and game

[@alexstudentemail]

1:16 it says navy seaman not navy seal lol, that just means he was in the navy. Regardless of that, great vid👍

[@ChaangajaMsuya]

The street will never forget Huston Harden😮‍💨

[@nevermisled3244]

Notiii GANG❗❗

[@danaldogiraud4981]

My Goodness... What if that Thunders team stuck together 🔥🔥🔥😭

[@bentonlott6272]

If you got drafted behind hasheem thabeet you're probably a future hall of Famer

[@Jirl_25]

Chris Paul Thunder just gave them 7 games... People forget Chris Paul is MVP type player when he is the #1 option

[@camsochill4825]

I swear people forget cp3 is one of the best PGs of all time

[@ajsworld2372]

Cam So Chill no one forgets ...

[@unspeakablyawesomebros3392]

Cp3 playing the lights out even now.

[@Jirl_25]

@Mr. Melendez I believe he had the most points in the 4th quarter that season and playoff, and the team had most comebacks wins. You think the Whatever Alexander rookie, or Danilo Galinari lead em?

[@Jirl_25]

@Mr. Melendez what the hell... This man is so stubborn... He had the ball in his hand, he made the play he orchestrated the offense and comminicated in defense... Jesus what else you want😂

[@oskarskates]

Harden looked lonely before having facial hair

[@nocomment1469]

Yes .... Yes ....

[@AlexBaller134]

MVP

[@reklessi0761]

What could have been : PG: Russell SG: Harden PF: Durant SF: Sefolosha C: Ibaka OKC : 2009-2012

[@itsslou4l805]

Y’all ain’t have to do Thabeet like that 🤣🤣

[@abdelhafidmohamed1409]

KING

[@raheimspells2606]

Harden is the G.O.A.T

[@OkHarley]

James Harden gonna be the all time scorer

[@terencewinters2154]

The ball dominators have a little problem with meshing when finding themselves off ball as both being penetrators leave each other off ball in defensive balance position. Ie it appears they're snubbing each other when the forwards, center are the beneficiaries of corner 3s and lobs . They could do better finding one another If they alternatively sometimes played a 1 guard front and swung the other baseline.

[@khaelstv3057]

May man💪🏿❤️💯

[@slapsoil511]

4:28 not gonna lie, westbrook j1 right there is tuff!!!

[@genettawilliams141]

MVP!!

[@chongymeister14]

BAHAHAH THAT REDDIT CHART!! TOO FUNNY

[@harry6555]

James Harden is a player we will talk about 100 years from now

[@Icecodes]

Hidden secrets of draft picks

[@swinestein6241]

Fear the beard! 🔥

[@zachariahw7960]

yall forget he averaged a block last season

[@razelmanapat6957]

10:43 LMAO

[@thechoosenone9213]

I was there at asu watching him rip fools to shreds

[@tychapman6817]

I'll never NOT be impressed by his ability to guard the post. Sometimes against elite big men

[@afraazalam3835]

What’s the music from 1:49 to 2:59? And from 5:13 to 5:51?

[@Aqwa61]

Whats the name of the music at the beginning?

[@samanthapancho4145]

As disrespectful as he is, you can't help but admit that he is one of the greatest players in NBA history.

[@cdai216]

disrespectful?

[@johnjones9901]

“Finest” huh 😏 lmao, lame joke, in a mood, my bad haha, please, carry on Btw damn your edits are fire seriously, who does them? Contact info maybe? Thanks.

[@bobbylim3016]

If your are into watching free throws non stop during the game then look no further than Dribble dribble master Harden!!

[@PhilTheBronxite]

Just thinking about what if The Seattle Supersonics never left. And KD, Westbrook, Harden & Ibaka all stayed together 👀

[@lynardmayrant2189]

Harden 2020 MVP💯👍

[@matthewstrueby449]

His bread is his power

[@modmax3467]

15:21 the guy to the right of Harden looks like a dreaded Chris Paul

[@timothyonime8199]

Harden is gonna turn 31 soon not 32

[@jeromevillanueva2207]

To think that the Thunder front office chose Perkins over him.....Dammit!

[@melflewis]

5:51 what instrumental is this??

[@karlwarner7401]

also，lefty. He changed the game like Curry in recent years, respect. If he wins a ring, top 5 SG all time.

[@camh1809]

Hes already a top 5 SG arguably

[@WaichiTsang]

King of the 1-point, he should be an actor other than a basketball player

[@mkga6274]

The one that got away

[@newpy2247]

Harden unlocked the rulebook and exploited it...he has truly mastered the game...do your homework

[@user-ze7tl2dw4i]

Correlation does not imply causation

[@wockedoff480]

so this is just an evolution of his beard

[@leviking3227]

All 3 of em won league MVP. Harden wit from the 6man award to MVP. can you imagine if they wuda kept that young thunder team together🤷🏾. Ik they wish they wuda paid Harden instead of Ibaka

[@shannonmaloney3626]

A very large percentage of NBA fans now are fixated with this idea that greatness can only be achieved by athletic and physical superiority notable modern players with these gifts include LeBron, Giannias, AD, Simmons, and Zion.... while all these no doubt are very skillful, besides maybe LeBron, these players are great primarily because of their physical and athletic gifts...if those gifts were reduced to average by NBA standards none of these would be successful in the NBA... which to me make players like Harden ,Chris Paul, Luka, Jokic,Trae and Curry's domination so impressive right now....they can take over the game against almost always more athletically gifted players by being the smarter player....each posses a creativity that matches any physical attribute a player can possess....each also has skill sets that are almost unstoppable....Curry's unlimited range with incredible effeciency might be the most valuable weapon in the NBA and made Golden State before even KD arguably the greatest team in NBA history and didn't have a single player close to LeBron's or MJ's athleticism...Jokic has the physical gift of being 7' but this is not that rare anymore with at least 3 others on his own team within an inch of this...and the fact that it's on ongoing debate between Embiid and Jokic for best Center in the NBA (it's Jokic IMO) is a perfect example of skill vs Athleticism....Jokic ,like Curry but not as dramatically, changed how Denver ran their offense....and while some Embiid advocates attempting to downplay the passing skills of Jokic by claiming Kareem was a better passer at the 5 it just doesn't compare....Jokic is a 7 foot point guard with elite playmaking skills and can take over the game with his scoring ability too.... Kareem was hitting open players out of doubleteams when the league was more contested in the paint and the fact he was their primary scorer defenses left guys open on the perimeter ....Jokic is creating the offense without the benefit of superstars like Baylor,Magic and the showtime Lakers......Trae is an offensive force but is basically an attempt to capture what Steph did for the Warriors ,while his game is very cerebral and he has dominated statistically it's hard to tell the effectiveness of it when his team never wins....Chris Paul is the master of getting by the defender and making him over compensate by charging to the basket drawing contact and hitting a floater.....his time with the Clippers,Hornets and Thunder showed he was a superstar when he was allowed to control the game...in Houston he sometimes disappeared with Harden and was a terrible fit....OKC is an ideal role for him....he's very smart but I think a control freak....when on a team with other egos he will bring friction at times....but with a team full of young talent and underappreciated veterans like Gallionari, who does nothing but get buckets and keep his mouth shut, Chris Paul thrives...the last two might be the most polarizing players in the NBA and really only Curry has avoided this opinion but Luka and Harden it's incredible the amount of hate these two get....Luka has a huge amount of passionate fans and that's evident in the All-star vote which like LeBron produces a very vocal group of haters..... LeBron's haters imo mostly diehard MJ fans that feel it's their duty to discredit LeBron's achievements so nobody forgets their hero(MJ is the goat LeBron fans but LeBron is a beast no doubt but if you are a muscular 6'8 with the speed of Westbrook and the explosiveness of pre injury D Rose with the playmaking ability exceeding most PG while sharing the floor with AD,Kyrie,Ray Allen, Chris Bosh, Kevin Love and Dwayne Wade getting beat by the Spurs twice, an over the hill Mavs team, and many other inferior teams he was never the dominant force MJ was) and Luka's haters consist of Suns, King's,mostly Hawks fans, recently LeBron fans and many more for controversial reasons I'm not getting into....Harden it feels like it's everyone that's not a Rockets fan....these two along with Larry Bird and Curry are going to be the greatest players to dominate the game in being the most crafty, intelligent, resourceful and most of all creative players on the court and I'll admit lacking the physical talent the defense isn't transcendent but with the exception of Trae all these players are automatically assumed to be bad at defense but in Hardens and Luka's cases it's taken a whole new life because most metrics have them right at average...and since team defense is not an accurate reflection of their defensive ability because of so many different factors outside their control this when possible is what is used to spread the narrative.... I would be shocked if anyone read this and if they did probably thinks I'm crazy...this is what happens to a massive sports fan that has nothing else and since Harden and Giannias had their little feud I've given this a lot of thought and wanted to share my opinion (which might go down as the longest comment on KZbin) so I'd be happy to get thoughts on this subject if I actually have any readers lol

[@JohnnyU-sj5gb]

I didn’t know harden used to wear an undershirt under his jersey during games like luka. He should bring that back

[@C.P.Brown_]

I've always told people the no show Harden in the playoffs is a bunch of media & hatas bull. His overall playoff efficiency is good despite what they claim. While in Houston he was getting double & triple teamed & all but twice, when eliminated it was by the team that either won the title or at least was in the finals. The other 2 was to a better OKC his first season in Houston & to Portland in which Dillard hit a game winner to eliminate them. Most of the eliminations came from an overstacked Warriors team. Yet they count that against him as if anybody else could beat that team by themselves in the playoffs.

[@russianspy5007]

How has nobody ever noticed that harden has never been on a team that’s missed the postseason

[@DonDeezoTv]

10:45 he sucks the "D" in Lmaooo

[@marcozamudio100]

Whos here after him going to the nets . Time for harden to get a ring .

[@zoyeblacc]

The more I learn about the James Harden OKC trade, the more I see ridiculous these owners are

[@JECZ23]

I just think it's funny that Harden wasn't able to start on OKC cuz coach wasn't gonna start him over Russ but now Russ is on Hardens team deferring to him. OKC which once had 3 MVP's on the same team, now has none. Tables do turn, my friends....

[@logandavid6862]

Who’s watching this after the harden trade

[@MarkLaw13]

It's surprising that he's not in the 50-40-90 club.

[@5-iwnl-596]

He’s basically doing it to himself. He’s got the same shooting talent of curry and bird. It’s just, he takes double curry’s threes and almost 5 times the amount bird took per game. At 36-37%, if he took 8 per game or even 10 per game, it would probably go up to 40.

[@silverfang4583]

@@5-iwnl-596 he also is less consistent which also hurts

[@yag2310]

I mean he takes a lot of difficult shots

[@provoke-rxvenge4676]

imagine 2018 harden, 2017 russel, 2012 kd

[@xjayzayumu7054]

Its weird to see Harden without a beard

[@joshuag451]

LMAOO JAMES HARDER HAS HIS JERSEY HANGING UP IN A STRIP CLUB

[@CBFW_KO]

Thats crazy that he played with Russ at the boys and girls club

[@nicklamonica8647]

You can’t say that about everybody

[@caloybarcela129]

It’s guardable

[@acerhoa5]

For anyone who trys to ignore the flops. Imagine if every player does that. Imagine your basketball games turning into soccer matches. Theres a reason why other players don't flop because its a disgrace to sportsmanship and deserves no honor. Any players that flops to that degree should be ashamed of themselves.

[@justinkase918]

ive never seen his chin before this video

[@ahmedmasood2208]

The offense Goat

[@TheMrBlackSanta]

Bearden Iverson

[@donfharis2582]

Harden’s better than AI

[@camh1809]

@@donfharis2582 arguably

[@callmedaddyyeahdaddyyeah8860]

The money wasn't the problem let's be real. The real problem was the people above, imagine you know your a superstar potential but you're sacrificing your time for the team doing everything now you have to sacrifice your money too? Damn that sucks.

[@JohnAdamsRomero09]

And now he is on Brooklyn Nets

[@mohitpatki2555]

how many rings?

[@damiannissen3058]

Can you do PG13 next?