James Harden is an American Professional basketball player. Born on August 26, 1989, he is 34 years old as of October 2023. James was raised by a single mother and was not close to his father. His dad went to Jail and they didn’t spend much time together. James Harden was raised in Compton along with his older brother and sister. His mother “Monja Willis” encouraged him to play sports in order to stay out of trouble like his dad had.
James Harden has been keenly interested in basketball since childhood. He initially played basketball at high school. After graduating, he went to college. After playing two seasons at college, James decided to play basketball professionally. So, he declared for the NBA draft in 2009.
James Harden High School Career
James Harden joined Artesia High School in Lakewood, California. He started playing basketball with the college team. In the second year, he averaged 13.2 points per game but improved this score to 18.8 points in the next season.
Artesia High School was led by its highly skilled players like James Harden who played in several state championships. The school won the title of state championships in James’ junior and final years.
In 2006, James led his AAU team to the Las Vegas Adidas Super 64 championship. He competed against many talented players including Nolan Smith, Michael Beasley and Austin Freeman, in a game against a DC Assault team. In this game, James scored 34 points.
James Harden College Career
James began his college career at Arizona State in 2007. He played under head coach Herb Sendek. He averaged 17.8 points and 5.3 rebounds per game in his first season. James Harden led his college team to play in the NCAA Tournament. In this tournament, Arizona State defeated Temple in the first round but lost to Syracuse in the round of 32. After finishing this season, James chose to play basketball at the professional level and decided to enter the 2009 NBA draft.
James Harden NBA Career
Oklahoma City Thunder selected James Harden in the 2009 NBA draft. In 2011-12, he averaged 16.8 points, 4.1 rebounds and 3.7 assists in 62 games. With this impressive average, he was named the NBA Sixth Man of the Year. In the very next year, James then signed a five-year contract with the Houston Rockets. Over the course of 78 games in his basketball journey, he scored about 2,023 points.
Later this agreement was extended by both parties in 2017. The agreement was for 4 years and was worth $160 million. With this, he became the richest player in NBA history to receive a total contract worth $228 million in six years. James Harden played a season for the Brooklyn Nets from 2021-22. He joined the team in a trade on January 14, 2021.
In the next season, James Harden was traded to the Philadelphia 76ers. With James’ impressive performance, the team was on par for a great showing in the playoffs, but they were eliminated by the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. James resigned from the team on July 27, 2022. This was a two-year contract, including a player option for the 2023-24 season.
Recently, James Harden was traded to the Los Angeles Clippers. He has played more than 1,000 NBA games in his basketball career.
FAQs
A. James Harden has 24,693 career regular season points as of October 2023.
A. James Harden's height is listed as 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m).
A. James Harden plays primarily as a guard, either the point guard or the shooting guard.
A. James Harden was drafted by the Oklahoma ity Thunder with the third overall pick of the 2009 NBA draft.
A. Yes, James Harden has won three consecutive scoring titles from 2018-2020.
