Many people complain that we are reaching a point where James Harden is breaking the game. If defenders don't impose themselves physically, Harden scores. If they do anything more than breathe in his vicinity, it’s a foul.
Harden’s combination of a deadly offensive skill set and a high-volume offensive system curated by head coach Mike D'antoni has helped him become statistically one of the best and most controversial scorers in NBA history. The Rockets’ high-volume gameplan fueled Harden’s single season record where he attempted an absurd 1,028 three-pointers and 858 free throws. Before the NBA season was cut short this year, Harden was on his way to winning his 3rd scoring title, something that has only been twice during the 3-point era.
By analyzing Harden’s polarizing game based solely on the numbers, last season Harden averaged 48.2 points per 100 possessions, nearly 2 points more than Michael Jordan’s highest scoring season of 46.4 points per 100 possessions. Per 100 possessions statistics accurately show offensive production because it normalizes numbers across different eras. Harden is also arguably the most efficient player in the NBA despite his usage rate consistently ranking amongst the highest in the league. Looking again at Jordan’s highest scoring season, MJ averaged 1.8 points less than Harden did but took five more shots a game and played six more minutes per game. The key to Harden’s efficiency lies in the shots he takes, which mostly consist of free throws, 3-point shots, and dunks/layups; statistically considered the best shots in basketball.
Harden has also revitalized isolation basketball, averaging 6.5 more isolation plays that any player in recorded history. Harden’s hero ball strategy has been extremely effective as he averaged 1.14 points per isolation possession, which is greater than the average NBA half-court points per possession of 0.96 points this season. The Beard is able to do this because of his ability to single handedly create shots for himself. Out of his 36.1 points last season only 13% of those points came off of assists. Compare that to Stephen Curry’s 2015-16 MVP season where 46 % of his 30.1 points per game came off of assists and you can see just how elite of a scorer Harden is.
No matter how people feel about whether Harden’s offensive play-style is selfish or exploits modern NBA rules, the fact is that he is statistically the greatest and most efficient scorer in NBA history.
Data courtesy of Basketball Reference and ESPN
Charts courtesy of Kirk Goldsberry