There is a recent picture of Los Angeles Clippers star guard James Harden that is circling the internet.
While speaking over in Asia, Harden was wearing a shirt with four words on it.
“I am a system,” the shirt reads (via NBA Central).
The former MVP and 10-time All-Star is about to enter his second season with the Clippers.
“I am a system.”
– James Harden’s shirt 🔥 pic.twitter.com/E6bFiSNZ3D
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) August 22, 2024
The shirt title can be looked at in many ways.
On one hand, Harden is one of the greatest scorers and offensive playmakers of his generation.
A member of the NBA’s. 75th Anniversary Team, the three-time scoring champion has accomplished almost everything that young basketball players dream about growing up.
The one thing that he does not have is a championship ring.
He has been to just one NBA Finals, which came way back in 2012 when he was on the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Great NBA teams have systems that make them successful.
In order for that system to work, the right players have to be in the right spots.
The problem with Harden, much like Michael Jordan before Phil Jackson came along, is that he is such a great one-on-one player and not an elite team player.
Everywhere that he has been, he has been the focal point from an offensive perspective.
Each team that he has been on either rides or dies with him controlling possession of the basketball.
That strategy has not worked for Harden in terms of winning a championship, which is why his shirt is a little ironic.
Harden playing one-on-one basketball, as great of an offensive player as he is, just isn’t good enough to win a championship.
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