Patrick Beverley believes James Harden is so good that fans don’t even fully comprehend the depth of his talent.
James Harden is one of the greatest talents in the history of the NBA. After over 16 years in the NBA, Harden has had an amazing career.
After multiple NBA scoring titles and an MVP win in 2018, Harden has cemented himself as one of the defining players of his era.
But to this day, the Beard faces criticism from fans, especially since Harden is yet to win an NBA championship.
However, according to Patrick Beverley, Harden’s talent goes beyond accolades, even to the point that fans miss exactly how good he is.
Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty ImagesPatrick Beverley says James Harden doesn’t get enough credit as a defender
Patrick Beverley recently spoke about James Harden’s gifts as a one-on-one player. He believes the former MVP doesn’t get recognized for his on-ball defense, even if he isn’t a lockdown defender.
While Harden isn’t known for his defense, he is extremely quick, and can cause problems for players
“Yeah, people don’t understand James Harden is real crafty with his hands, like his deflections, his timing. He’s really good at deflections.
“I’m not saying he’s a f—— lockdown defender. No, I’m not saying that. But I think, if you ask James Harden to guard for, I don’t know, 3 seconds mano a mano, I think he gets stops.”
Patrick Beverley names Harden among top 4 one-on-one players
On the subject of playing one-on-one, Beverley revealed his list of players that he thinks are the best at playing one-on-one.
“I gotta go, Kevin Durant, one-on-one. I guess he said something about, you know, he would like to see one-on-one for a million dollars or something, I saw on the internet.
“So I think that, if there are three people that I think would give Kevin Durant a run for his money in a one-on-one, I think one would be Kawhi Leonard. I think two would be James Harden, and I think three would be Anthony Edwards.
“I think when it comes to like one-on-one, and before we clip this and people go crazy, I’m talking people who are healthy. So I can’t name Jayson Tatum. I can’t name Kyrie Irving. I can’t name Wenby.
“I’m not naming centers, I’m naming a position in basketball where you don’t have an advantage or disadvantage. In order, I’m going, Kawhi. I’m going, James Harden. I’m going, Anthony Edwards.”
It’s no coincidence that Patrick Beverley named several players that he has shared a team with as great one-on-one players.
It’s likely that he has experience playing against these stars during practice sessions, and is using that experience to form his list.