Late NBA legend Kobe Bryant correctly predicted James Harden would not win titles with Houston Rockets

Before everyone else, Kobe Bryant foresaw James Harden and the Houston Rockets‘ impending demise. Bryant stated in a 2019 ESPN interview that while the Rockets were entertaining to watch, their style of play did not lend itself to winning a championship.

In terms of winning championships, he declared, “I’m not a fan. I don’t think that approach will ever win championships. However, in order to win games, you also need to keep your team afloat, therefore you must take whatever action is necessary. And he is carrying it out.

Rachel Nichols followed up right away. “So are you saying James Harden and the Rockets can’t win a championship in their current form?” Bryant said, “Not with this style of play, it won’t win. “With one individual controlling the ball.”

Image Credits – SI

Despite the criticism, Kobe Bryant was quick to note that Harden was a fantastic player on an individual level. But what he’s doing is very amazing, the man added.

“The fact that people are now attempting to downplay what he’s accomplishing is proof of how incredible it is. He’s accomplishing some incredible things.” Bryant explained. The Rockets ultimately fell short against the Lakers in the second round of the playoffs, just as Kobe Bryant had foretold.

In Game 4, Harden had minimal impact, scoring 21 points, largely from the line while shooting only 2 of 11 from the field.

He didn’t make a single field goal attempt in the last frame.

The fact that the Laker’s defense knew exactly how to play the 31-year-old was a major contributing factor to his failures. When the Rockets tried the pick-and-roll, LA pinned Harden 17 times. Houston scored.714 points on those possessions on average. The club typically scores 1.13 points per possession. Such a steep plunge!

Harden was essentially insignificant in the results of the subsequent games after a Game 1 performance in which he scored 36 points and helped Houston to an unexpected 112-97 victory.

This playoff was expected to be the one when Harden would shake his Clayton Kershaw image and indeed perform under pressure. Instead, he only solidified it for all time.

Mike D’Antoni, the then-Rockets head coach, said that his squad appeared disoriented after the game.

He explained, “Just a lack of spirit. It just appears that we fell. A small portion of us became lost.”

After the game, Harden in particular was questioned about how precisely his team could have performed so poorly with so much on the line. He answered, “That’s an excellent question,” without offering any other details.

It simply proved that Kobe Bryant was correct with his prediction about Harden and the Rockets.

 

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