Between 2017 and 2019, there were few sights scarier in the NBA than James Harden lacing up his boots ahead of a game. In his absolute prime, he was a force to be reckoned with. Playing for the Houston Rockets, he won the MVP in 2018, and would just walk onto the court and drop 40 every other day, barely breaking a sweat. Donatas Motiejunas knows that far too well.<\/p>\n
Teams tried hard to figure him and his game out, but in the end, nothing worked. Motiejunas, who played with Harden in Houston between 2012 and 2016, recently revealed that the Beard was always that good, and that he just took his game to another level for that two-year stretch.<\/p>\n
Harden\u2019s shiftiness and lethal control over the step-back three had teams resorting to the most unorthodox tactics to guard him. Motiejunas claimed that opposing coaches were happier to see Harden drive to the rim than take a contested three. The main reason was his ability to draw contact<\/a>, which saw him average a whopping 10.1 free throws per game.<\/p>\n \u201cYou know, obviously, James Harden, he\u2019s one of the best isolation players in the world, phenomenal moves. At his prime, he was shooting, I don\u2019t know, 18-20 free throws a game, because no one could figure out how he was playing basketball, you know?\u201d the Lithuanian said <\/a>in a recent interview.<\/p>\n