on james harden, and iconography, and how annoying his career is...
some thoughts on the new clippers star...
I’m much aware that they’re more important strifes, atrocities, and general things happening in the world than James Harden’s issues with his new team, The Los Angeles Clippers. Right now, after a vicious attack by the Hamas, Israel is waging war against Palestine and Palestinians, a declaration of evil pushed by Isreal’s far-right government and one that has taken the mask off the once mainstream liberal zionist project. When you think about genocide being taken place by the hand of Western imperialism, James Harden being slightly annoying when it comes to his lack of iconography seems like something far less sinister as it does when you’re watching him dance his way to foul calls. To care about sports in the way that I do — flailing my arms when things go bad, having a frown on my face the next day after a game, going to a bar and watching the Knicks lose — is the ultimate luxury; my ability to be mad at what is happening is a beacon of privilege. Perspective is good. Harden’s unprofessionalism is not the cantankerous event that his detractors seem all too eager to rejoice in.
But few superstars were as polarizing as Harden was, and still is. The statistical revolution — the change from the game being discussed aesthetically to being discussed using analytical numbers — coincided with Harden’s ascent as one of the game’s best players. When Daryl Morey started popping up at analytics conferences partly to consistently prop up Harden, including that infamous “he’s better than Michael Jordan” spiel, it correctly garnered unruly criticism. To some, Morey’s support of Harden was too much for a guy who doesn’t ingratiate himself with fans quite like Jordan or LeBron; or doesn’t inspire insane devotion for his overzealous work ethic like Kobe does. In fact, whenever he loses, it is blamed on the phenomena of Harden — as opposed to him just having a bad night. There isn’t a player whose philosophy follows him like it does for the Beard; every loss is a referendum on the haram way he plays basketball. In the 2018 Western Conference Finals, when Houston looked like they had a chance to finally upseat the Warriors as the Western Conference champions, Harden went on a cold streak that allowed the Warriors to swing a nine point halftime lead to a nine point lead in the third quarter. The Rockets missed 27 straight three pointers; rewatching that game on YouTube showed that some of those shots were wide open. When it came to Harden, watching that game was like watching an astounding rapper begin to rap fast like Tech N9ne. For all of his blazing gifts back then — his first step, his body control, and his ability to create space for that trademark stepback three pointer — Harden sometimes played a reactive style of basketball in the playoffs: he decided that he was going to keep shooting and rigidly stayed there. After not being given the foul calls that he regularly received in the regular season, Harden began taking three pointers. It was flat out embarrassing. The image of the threes never going in is burned into my head; it wasn’t Harden’s fault necessarily, but he’ll never be able to separate that game from the criticisms of it. They’re intertwined, and this is not including the burning fact that Kobe, LeBron, and Mike would have won that game.
That game feels like it was decades ago. After saying that while he loved Houston, it was imperative for him to finally go, he was unceremoniously traded from the Rockets, he was on the Nets, a team that could have won a title in their first year had they been able to stay healthy. Those Nets teams though, felt charmless and rigid despite all of the otherworldly talents on the team. Elite teams in the past are teams that pull the public closer together to cheer for them, or detest them, while they felt boxed in by the pressure of having to sustain that pace of notoriety. Sports are iconography and polarizing teams The Brooklyn Nets, with their yuppie fans, secondary standing, and new money status, never quite feel regal.
Philadelphia offered Harden a chance to win over people in a city with a passionate if not fanatical fans. As the 76ers got their generation talent, they realized the second man they wanted to help bring a title here, Ben Simmons, was struggling with being a viable half court option on offense. Harden supplied them with a offensive partner for Joel Embiid, and at times they looked like they had been playing with each other for the totality of their careers. Embiid is a joy to watch when he isn’t pump faking, and They were never able to get over the hump, though, and now Harden is in Los Angeles after a petulant and exaggerated beef with Daryl Morey.
It is external strife like his beef with Morey, even though the latter is also petulant and lacks magnetism, that make people slightly annoyed with Harden. The economics and transactions of professional basketball are no longer unforgiving; if you complain and moan, you will get traded, likely to a situation with better teammates and a likelihood of playoff glory. I suppose that this is ultimately a good thing: the right to go to a team that can win when management is being difficult. But just because it is a good thing, doesn’t make it something that will ingratiate you with fans. Harden can claim that doesn’t care about that; and that’s admirable, but for every corny Damian Lillard meme about running from the grind, there’s a fan that furtively smiles and thinks that this generation of players are trying to subvert the heartwarming sweat of a championship from the ground up. Since Harden is not the player that LeBron, Kobe, or even possibly Dwyane Wade was, it befuddles me that he demands to be respected as such when routinely we’ve seen be not good enough when it has counted the most.