After a few rough patches in the beginning, James Harden has been flourishing in the black and white. In Brooklyn, Harden has assumed the role of point and continues to lead the team as both Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant battle injuries and health protocols. Since his trade from the Houston Rockets, James Harden continued to prove the league wrong. On Monday night, James Harden made NBA history en route to an overtime game-winner against the San Antonio Spurs. James Harden becomes the first player since the 1977-79 season to record 30 points, 15 assists, and 10 boards with 0 turnovers.
The sheer willpower and strength of Harden proved to be too much for the Spurs. James Harden’s 30-15-10 stat line proves just how much the Nets have won in the trade for the 2018 MVP. Harden has assumed the role he was born to play and continues to lead his teams up the NBA rankings. Harden is leading the NBA in assists per game with 11.1 and notching 8.4 rebounds per game.
Fellow Nets player Kyrie Irving spoke highly about James Harden’s Monday night performance.
“When James is being James, it makes our job a lot easier,” Irving said. “And so we got to get used to somebody special like that, things like that in terms of breaking records. So, I can’t wait to be right alongside of him, my name in Nets history — and all the guys on our team where we’re just breaking records as a team, and then individually we’re stacking up with some of the best to ever play.”
Irving also spoke about how the recent performance of Harden has led him to getting back into MVP form.
“We’re excited to play basketball, go back to where James had a great career,” Irving said. “Looking forward to the experience, looking forward to having fun. It’s going to be highly competitive, a lot of great players, no animosity on the court: Just greatness on display.”
After leading us to an Eastern Conference-best 9-4 record in February, @JHarden13 becomes the first Net to win Player of the Month since Vince Carter in April 2007 https://t.co/bwP2Hs0fa6
— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) March 2, 2021
James Harden’s surge of play comes on the heels of a team not playing with full health and have struggled to find their identity. Kevin Durant has missed the past 11 of 12 Brooklyn games and raises some concerns about the longevity of his career. But with James Harden steering the ship, the Nets have won 9 of their last 10 games. With the second half of the season upon us, we have yet to see the Brooklyn Nets show signs of fatigue.