James Harden calls himself 'misunderstood' and 'underrated'

Following the trade that sent a disgruntled James Harden from the 76ers to the Clippers, it took a few early bumps in the road for the new-look trio, including Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, to hit their stride. Los Angeles lost their first six games with Harden.

Fortunately for the Clippers, the tides eventually turned, and the team went 46-26 with Harden during the 2023-24 season. But after a disappointing 4-2 first-round series loss to the Dallas Mavericks, who are currently gearing up for a trip to the 2024 NBA Finals, questions surrounding the future of both Harden and Paul George loom large.

As Harden awaits clarity on his future, he recently appeared at the Adidas Eurocamp and spoke with HoopsHype's Cyro Asseo de Choch. During the conversation, Harden was asked to say the first thing that came to his mind when he heard a few words, and the 10-time NBA All-Star cited his name for two.

"I will say to you three words and just give me the first thing that pops in your mind when I say them.

Legend.

JH: Michael Jordan.

Underrated.

JH: James Harden.

Misunderstood.

JH: James Harden."

It's an interesting choice of words for Harden to pin to his name. The "misunderstood" angle is fair, as he's insinuated it previously throughout his drama-filled exit from the 76ers. However, Harden has an impressive all-around resume that's essentially only lacking an NBA championship.

The 34-year-old was named the NBA's Most Valuable Player in 2018, made 10 All-Star games, has been named to the All-NBA First Team six times, is a three-time NBA scoring champion (for three-straight seasons) and led the league in assists twice in his career. On top of that, he won the NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award in 2012 and has been named to the All-NBA Second and Third teams once each.

Harden may view himself as underrated, but his resume is tough to ignore. After averaging 16.6 points, 8.5 assists and 5.1 rebounds per game while playing alongside two fellow stars Kawhi Leonard and George, his looming potential free agency market should be interesting to monitor. A return to the Clippers is on the table, but many questions about Harden should be answered within the next month.