Back in February, former Philadelphia 76ers star James Harden’s comments on “The Hoop Collective” about how things have changed in the NBA that will make many raise their eyebrows.
“I don’t want to feel like the old guy,” Harden said, “But it’s like there’s not a lot of vets on each team. “When I came in… you had like vets show you how to be professional and then show you how to work and show you how to be all these things and their steps to it. Now it’s just a lot of young guys, and I get it. Young guys, they want to take a chance on things, but they don’t know how to be professional. They don’t know how to work.”
Harden’s former teammate from his Houston Rockets days, Austin Rivers, agreed with Harden’s words on his podcast. While Harden’s detractors would say he wasn’t a good example as a veteran, Rivers refuted that sentiment.
“When James said it, I saw comments flooded with people like, ‘Oh, James is the one to talk. He was in strip clubs.’ James never missed a (expletive) game, but James outworked damn near everybody on the team,” Rivers said.
Harden and Rivers were teammates on the Houston Rockets for one-and-a-half seasons from 2018 to 2020, so Rivers got an up-close look at how the former MVP approached the game. Harden then played for the Sixers for one-and-a-half seasons from 2022 to 2023.
Harden may be many things, but nothing he said above is necessarily wrong. For all the talent youngsters may have when they enter the NBA, having veteran leadership helps their careers plenty long-term. Harden had that early on in his career, and look what came of him.
There’s no telling if some of the young talent that is or will be in the NBA will pan out without those veteran examples.
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