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- James Harden has a reputation for enjoying the nightlife.
- According to an ESPN report, Harden often rents private jets on days off to party.
- The Rockets reportedly let Harden get away with it because it rarely affected their performances.
- As Harden seeks a trade from the Rockets, his off-court habits and questionable conditioning have raised concerns among some NBA teams.
- Visit the Insider home page for more stories.
James Harden is a perennial All-Star, MVP candidate and one of the most dynamic offensive players in NBA history, but concerns remain about his enjoyment of the nightlife and his conditioning.
Harden, who requested a trade from the Houston Rockets, missed the start of his team’s training camp last week. He was seen on social media, without a mask, at rapper Lil ‘Baby’s birthday party in Atlanta, and was later spotted at a nightclub in Las Vegas.
Harden had to test negative for COVID-19 six times upon returning to the team. Monday was their first practice this season, with the Rockets starting less than 10 days away.
This has been a running theme for the Rockets, although Harden’s nightlife habits never interfered with basketball.
An NBA general manager told Insider that Harden’s off-court habits are “legendarily bad.”
ESPN’s Tim MacMahon reported Wednesday that Harden has had a major influence on the Rockets’ travel schedule, with the team often spending the night in cities that were “among Harden’s favorite stops.”
According to MacMahon, if the Rockets had several days between games, Harden would often charter a private jet to Las Vegas to party.
James Harden during a preseason game on December 15, 2020.
Michael Wyke / AP Images
Of course, Harden could get away with it in a way that other players couldn’t. A former Rockets assistant coach told MacMahon: “If they have a few days off, everyone knows: James will fly somewhere else and have fun. But he will come back and have a 50-point triple-double, so they’re fine with that.”
However, as Harden seeks a change in Houston, his off-court lifestyle may be hurting his market. The Rockets reportedly want a central player, a young player and a pick package in exchange for Harden. ESPN’s Zach Lowe said on his “The Lowe Post” podcast that few teams will want to stick with that package, in part because of concerns about how Harden will age.
“James Harden is 31 years old,” Lowe said. “There are teams that are concerned about how he will age, how his game will age, partly due to the perception, and certainly recently, the reality, that he comes out a lot at night.”
On Tuesday, Harden made his preseason debut against the Rockets, and some in the NBA world felt he looked out of shape.
—CBS Sports NBA (@CBSSportsNBA) December 16, 2020
Harden scored 12 points on 3 of 10 shots in 21 minutes.
After the game, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said on “SportsCenter” that Harden’s first preseason game was the subject of much intrigue in the NBA. Windhorst said that while some thought Harden looked out of shape, others thought rumors about his physical condition were exaggerated.
It should be noted that Harden’s off-court habits haven’t drastically affected his performance. He has led the NBA in scoring the past three seasons and finished in the top three in MVP voting in five of the past six years. During his time with the Rockets, Harden has never missed more than 10 games in a season.
Harden spoke to the media for the first time Wednesday and said he was feeling good on the court Tuesday. He said his focus was getting in shape and getting used to five-on-five basketball.
“I can only focus right now, and for me, the best James Harden is making sure he’s in shape,” Harden said. “Like I said, I haven’t even had a chance to play 5v5. Individual workouts, when you do individual basketball coaching, it’s great, but since all NBA players can agree, there’s nothing like 5v5. the training, the physical, the readings and things like that. Yesterday, for the first time, I felt good, and that’s exciting. “
ESPN reported that even with the Rockets’ acquisition of John Wall, Harden hadn’t changed his mind about wanting a trade. For now, however, there appears to be a gap in what teams would offer for Harden and what the Rockets want.
“He has to play to get in shape,” Windhorst said, adding that even an out-of-shape Harden is “pretty good” and will be “desirable again at some point.”
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