James Harden’s Brooklyn Debut
After spending eight long years in Houston, NBA superstar James Harden finally got what he wanted.
Harden was traded to the Brooklyn Nets from Houston as a part of a four-team deal. In the blockbuster trade, the Nets traded Caris LeVert and three first-round draft picks along with center Jarret Allen and forward Taurean Prince going to the Cleveland Cavaliers, while the Rockets got Dante Exum and Rodions Kurucs.
Houston also got multiple first-round picks from Brooklyn along with Victor Oladipo from the Indiana Pacers.
Making his debut as a Net, James Harden made history by becoming the first NBA player to record a triple-double in his debut with his new NBA team.
Harden finished his first game with the Nets with 32points, 14 assists and 12 rebounds, helping the Nets to a 122-115 victory over the Orlando Magic. His patience and his playmaking was a big factor in his team's win.
In the same game, Brooklyn’s other superstar player, Kevin Durant, scored 42 points along with 5 assists and 4 rebounds. Harden and Durant combined for 72points together, the most the duo have ever scored as teammates, dating back to their time with the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Not being able to practice with the Nets before playing in his debut game apparently did not seem to break the chemistry that Harden had with Kevin Durant. After the game, Harden stated that “I hope that you can tell by my smile and my play," Harden said. "Just excited, excited for the opportunity. This is an unbelievable organization from top to bottom. For me, all I must do is go out there and be the best James Harden I can be, and good things will happen."
After seeing his amazing performance, it’s easy to see that Harden was excited to be on a new team, unlike he was in Houston.
After all, seeing Harden play with the Nets, you can tell he has a much different attitude with the Nets than he did with the Rockets in recent time.
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He is already in tune with how the Nets run the court and in the first two games alone Harden has been able to score 30 points or more, helping the Nets secure a two-game winning streak, despite another superstar in Kyrie Irving being sidelined with an injury.
In his press conference after beating Milwaukee, Harden, 31 years old, said, “We were young in Oklahoma City," on the duo playing together with the Thunder from 2009 to 2012. "We are grown men now. We know what we want. We really know the game of basketball now. We are not those young guys that want to run around and just shoot and dunk all day. And then for me, I sit back, and I know what player Kevin Durant is. He's one of the best players to ever touch a basketball."
Along with Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant, the Nets easily have the best chances of winning the East after adding James Harden to the team.
James Harden’s future with the Nets seems to be bright as he is starting off at an impressive pace. Going forward, the Nets have the potential to make the NBA finals with the talented team they have, and perhaps, a chance to win it all.
