Will ASU Legend James Harden Ever Win NBA Title?

Arizona State basketball has found itself in a curious position over the last several months - with current head coach Bobby Hurley needing to construct an entirely new team on a whim for the 2025-26 season.

It isn't all bleak - as a former Hurley prodigy in Lu Dort is just three wins away from an NBA title.

Dort was the best player on the 2018-19 Sun Devil team that made the NCAA tournament appearance for a second consecutive season - the wing then went undrafted in the 2019 NBA draft and stuck on with the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Dort became a key cog with the franchise quickly and now could be an NBA champion in the next week.

That begs the question if the most famous Sun Devil alumni in James Harden can ever get to that stage again.

Harden made the Finals as a third-year player in 2012 as a member of the same Thunder franchise, but hasn't been back since.

The All-American shooting guard developed into one of the best players in the NBA in the years following the 2011-12 season - and nearly took the Houston Rockets to a Western Conference title in 2018.

But they never made it over the top.

Since then, Harden has suffered a quartet of gut-wrenching playoff defeats that were a result of various factors.

Now, Harden is set to turn 36 before the start of the 2025-26 season as a member of the Los Angeles Clippers.

The Clippers boast a talented core around the 2018 MVP that includes Kawhi Leonard, Norman Powell, Ivica Zubac, and a multitude of talented role players - is that enough to pull the franchise into contention after an early playoff exit?

The obvious answer at the surface is no, but Harden could potentially see an uptick in scoring efficiency next year - and it's always possible that Leonard experiences a largely healthy season.

Ultimately there is a strong chance that Harden retires without a ring in his possession, but that should not discount the career he had - he is one of the greatest players to ever step foot on an NBA court.

Read more about the current state of the program under Hurley here, and the roster that he is currently attempting to build ahead of the season opener in November here.

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