Rockets Ex Danuel House Praises James Harden

The Houston Rockets were one of the best franchises throughout the 2010's thanks to James Harden.

Harden's teammate from 2018-20 in Houston, Danuel House Jr., spoke about his time with the team on a recent episode of the Ur.Perspectives Podcast.

“People talk about the Rockets and James Harden, and they criticize us for not getting it done in the playoffs," House said. "But they don’t realize how hard it was. Harden had three defenders on him every night. Name another player who had to deal with that on a regular basis. Teams would throw everything at him—double teams, triple teams, even weird defenses like having a guy stand behind him to stop the step-back. It was crazy. But despite all that, he still got his numbers. People want to blame him for not winning, but it wasn’t just on him.”

Harden may not have won a championship during his time with the Rockets, but there is no denying that the team forced its opponents to change its game plans when coming to Houston.

In a world where winning is everything, Harden will always be criticized for never finishing one out and getting a championship with the Rockets. However, his impact should still be celebrated years and decades after his career comes to an end.