At any given time, the NBA consists of about 450 of the most talented basketball players in the world. That talent is not a gift. It’s fought for, practiced, honed. Earned. Typically coupled with fortuitous physical stature, it defines the game’s elite.
But although the best of the best are where they are because of hard work, not everyone who makes it loves it. On Friday, Houston Rockets guard James Harden explained that in order to keep getting better, you have to love the game–your game–enough to add to it.
Most players don’t really love basketball. They just do it because they can jump high or shoot the ball very well or they’re tall. But it’s been like that way since high school. Just every single year you’ve got to find ways to get better and come back with something different, something new. A game changer.
Harden, enjoying a career-year in his 10th season, is a bastion of self-improvement. That’s why he is the most unstoppable offensive force in the NBA, averaging a league-best 36.5 points per game.
That’s also what makes him absolutely indispensable. At 29 years old, with a second consecutive MVP award on the horizon, he still has not plateaued. We cannot say for sure what peak Harden ultimately looks like because he has yet to regress in any sort of lasting, substantial way. He peaks every year.
