Houston Rockets star James Harden has certainly heard from his share of critics over the years regarding his unique style of play.
But as the former MVP sees it, that comes with the territory of being one of the NBA’s best players. Now an All-Star for the eighth time in his eventual Hall of Fame career, the league’s 2019-20 scoring leader had this exchange at Saturday’s All-Star Media Day in Chicago:
Reporter: James, you talked to us before about blocking out the haters. What’s the best part about doing that?
Harden: It means you’re doing something right. [laughs] If you don’t have haters, you don’t have people not wanting you to succeed, then you’re just not doing what you’re supposed to be doing. It’s a part of it. It’s a part of when you’re on the top. and when you’re doing what you’re supposed to be doing.
Regarding his career goals, Harden was quite succinct in his answer:
Basketball-wise, obviously, I want a championship. I want to be one of the greats to ever play the game of basketball.
A partial transcript of Harden’s interview session with reporters from Saturday’s All-Star Media Day is available at the league’s website.
Harden will start Sunday’s All-Star game, which begins at 7 p.m. Central time and will be televised nationally on TNT. The 30-year-old is averaging a league-high 35.3 points per game for the Rockets (34-20) this season, along with 7.3 assists and 6.5 rebounds per game.
