Kobe Bryant once explained why James Harden’s play style isn't built to win championships

James Harden once again came up short in the playoffs as the LA Clippers were bounced in the first round following a 120-101 Game 7 loss to the Denver Nuggets on Saturday. As Harden and the Clippers — both with reputations for postseason struggles — made another early exit, fans resurfaced an old clip of Kobe Bryant discussing why Harden’s style wasn’t built for championship success.

During the 2018-19 season, the year after he had claimed MVP honors, Harden was electric, averaging 36.1 points, 7.5 assists and 6.6 rebounds per game. He cemented his place as one of the league’s all-time great scorers, dropping 30 or more in 57 games.

However, in February 2019, Kobe Bryant, with Tracy McGrady, in a conversation with Rachel Nichols on The Jump, dissected why James Harden's heavy isolation and scoring load wouldn’t translate into playoff wins.

“I'm not a fan of — in terms of winning championships — I don't think that style is ever gonna win championships,” Bryant said. “But at the same time, you have to keep your team's head above water to win games. So you have to do what you have to do to win games, and he's doing it, right?

“If you take one player, you put them at the top of the key, or you put them on the wing and you're running screen rolls, you're always in front of the defense. The defense can key on that, particularly in the playoffs. And that's easy to defend.”

Still, Bryant gave Harden his flowers.

"What he's doing is absolutely remarkable, though. It's a testament to how remarkable it is because people are now trying to minimize what it is that he's doing. He's doing some phenomenal stuff."

Harden is yet to return to the NBA Finals since his OKC days. His best shots came during his stint with the Houston Rockets under Mike D’Antoni, but even those runs ended at the hands of the powerhouse Golden State Warriors.

Since his explosive 2018-19 campaign, Harden has averaged 30 ppg just once, with his scoring dipping into the 20-point range as he moved from team to team, but his playmaking has stayed steady throughout.

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James Harden becomes the first player in NBA history to lose a Game 7 with four different teams

James Harden — long the target of playoff criticism — once again gave fans ammunition after scoring just seven points on 2-for-8 shooting in 35 minutes, while finishing with a minus-29 rating in Saturday’s Game 7 loss to Denver.

Although he added 13 assists and five rebounds, Harden’s overall performance fell far short of expectations for a do-or-die contest.

With his latest defeat, Harden has now lost Game 7s with four different teams — the Clippers, Sixers, Nets and Rockets — becoming the first player in league history to do so.

James Harden's Game 7 record now stands at 3-4, with averages of 19.2 points and 7.9 assists, shooting just 35.5% overall and 23.2% from beyond the arc in those high-stakes showdowns.