5 current NBA stars who choked in the Playoffs

#1 James Harden - Houston Rockets (2017)

James Harden

In 2017, for the second time in three years, James Harden was an MVP candidate in the league. With averages of 29.1 points, 11.2 assists and 8.1 rebounds, he willed his team to 55 wins (+14 from the previous year). The franchise roared into the Playoffs as the third seed and took care of business against eventual league MVP Russell Westbrook and the Oklahoma City Thunder in five games.

In the second round, they were up against the wily and veteran San Antonio Spurs. And things were looking good when they rolled over the Spurs in Game 1 with a 27-point win. San Antonio bounced back over the next two games and after four games, the series was tied two-games apiece.

Harden and the Rockets lost a heartbreaker in Game 5, losing a nail-biter in overtime. With their backs against the wall, Houston had to force had to win Game 6 to force a decider and it should have been easy as the Spurs were missing Leonard right?

Wrong.

Harden, the undebatable Rockets' leader failed to show up and put up abysmal numbers after making an MVP case for himself all through the regular season and the 11 prior games of the Playoffs.

Here are his Game 6 numbers: 10 points, 7 assists, 3 rebounds, 18.2% shooting from the field, 22.9% shooting from beyond the arc and a -28 in the +/- category.