James Harden

James Edward Harden Jr. is an American professional basketball player currently of the Brooklyn Nets. He is often recognised by his large beard leading him to be christened by the fans and media as ‘The Beard’. He is a skilled left sided combo guard that scores at a very prolific level, making him one of the best at his trade in the NBA.

Early Life

Harden was born on the 26th of August 1989 in Los Angeles, California. He attended Artesia High School in Lakewood California, where he led his team to back to back state titles during his junior and senior years in high school. He later went on to play for the Arizona State University team for 2 seasons before declaring for the 2009 NBA Draft.

NBA Journey

The Oklahoma City Selected him with 3rd overall pick in the 2009 NBA Draft where he would team up with 2 other Future MVPs in Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant, reaching the NBA Finals and picking up the NBA Sixth Man of The Year. After being unable to come to an agreement about his contract extension, He was traded to the Houston Rockets where he would go on to develop as the association’s best shooting guard, getting selected to various NBA All-Star and All-NBA Teams.

His remarkable play style allowed him to score and create points for fun and led the NBA in scoring thrice and led the league in assists once as well. In the 2017/2018 season, he finally won the MVP and many experts suggested that he could’ve won it all had it not been for Chris Paul’s unfortunate injury in the Western Conference Finals. He would later try to team up with one of his closest friends: Russell Westbrook, but it did not end well. James was traded to the Brooklyn Nets where he teamed up with Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant, forming one of the scariest teams ever built.

With the USA Basketball Men’s Team he won a FIBA World Cup Gold Medal in 2014 and an Olympic Gold Medal During the 2012 London Olympics.

NBA Awards and Accolades

Net Worth

James Harden is known to have a frivolous party type lifestyle, but has managed to amass himself a net worth of $165 million. He gets most of his income from his NBA contract and his various endorsements. His current contract will pay him $44,310,840 through the 2021-2022 NBA season. He has a $200 million deal that he signed in 2015 with Adidas that will pay him $15 million a year till 2028. He also has a $10 million mansion in the swanky suburbs of Houston.

Family

James Harden was born in Los Angeles, California to Mother Monja Ellis and Father James Sr., the latter of whom was absent for most parts of Harden’s life. He was raised in Compton with his older brother, Akili Roberson.