The Houston Rockets have a guy quickly rising through the ranks on the all-time scoring list in franchise history.
The Houston Rockets are certainly thankful to have James Harden in the organization. With a goaltending call last night, the Beard moved into third place all-time in Rockets history for points with 13,391 of them in his a little more than six seasons in Houston.
Harden has obviously been the best player in Houston since his arrival in 2012 after Daryl Morey and Co. took a risk and acquired him for their then-top scorer Kevin Martin + young talent. It has since turned into one of the most lopsided trades in NBA history, with the Thunder essentially getting just Steven Adams out of the deal.
All-time
James Harden just keeps racking up the points. This is the Beard’s 10th season in the league at 29 years of age. With the style of play that he has, Harden should be able to stay relevant for quite some time.
His total points are now at 16186 throughout his ten years. I could see a future where he gets near that ever-coveted 30,000 mark, and possibly then some. The slow scoring start coming off the bench in Oklahoma City certainly doesn’t help, but averaging near 30 points a game since then has definitely righted the ship a bit.
Next up for Harden
What’s next for James Harden? He has two more guys to pass if he wants to be the leading scorer in franchise history.
Calvin Murphy is first. He finished his career with 17,949 points in Rockets red, and previously had the highest scoring game in franchise history until last year (thanks Harden). I envision the Beard passing him around 2020 or so.
Lastly, Hakeem “the Dream” Olajuwon will be a tough task to catch. He finished his Rockets career with an astounding 26,511 points, easily first in the history of the organization. James Harden will need to continue a similar output for quite some time if he wants to be the leader in this category.
Where do you think that Harden will end up? Happy Thanksgiving everyone!