Houston Rockets star James Harden shot 15 free throws in the first half alone during Tuesday night’s game at San Antonio, making all 15.
Given Harden’s status as the NBA’s annual leader in points and free throws, this naturally drew some ire from Spurs fans, as it does in many visiting locations for the Rockets.
On Tuesday, however, the league’s leading scorer and former Most Valuable Player (MVP) opted to respectfully respond.
After a nearby fan yelled “No one wants to see a free throw contest!” to Harden, the 30-year-old Rockets guard had a clever response:
Nobody wants to see fouls, either!
Naturally, Harden made both free throws after the exchange, which played out live on the local San Antonio broadcast.
Entering Tuesday, Harden led the NBA at 38.9 points per game on 44.6% overall shooting and 35.5% on three-pointers, along with 7.8 assists and 5.9 rebounds. He averages 14.4 free-throw attempts per game, making 12.5 of those for an 86.5% success rate.
As Harden indicated, the simplest way to keep him off the line would be for defenders to avoid fouling him.
