10-time All-Star James Harden was born on August 26, 1989, and currently plays for the Philadelphia 76ers in the NBA. Often called "The Beard," because of his distinctive facial hair, Harden started his professional career with the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2009 and later found immense success with the Houston Rockets.
James Harden is known for his isolation offense (ISO-offense), where he takes on defenders one-on-one. His excellent ball-handling skills feature several quick dribble combos, dropping defenders in sight. These dribble combos packed with lethal footwork make Harden a dangerous offensive force in the league.
The Beard is famous for his unguardable step-back 3-pointers, and most notably, he has mastered the art of drawing fouls with his deceptive moves. His ability to generate contact craftily and getting to the free throw line is stuff of legends. By keeping defenders off balance with his dribble combos and sharp changes of direction, Harden routinely earns trips to the free-throw line. This resulted in Harden being the NBA’s leader in most free throws attempted from 2014 to 2020.
Harden is a former NBA MVP, once awarded Sixth Man of the Year, 3-time scoring champion, and has been named to the All-NBA First Team on six occasions. He enters the 2023-24 season in search of his first NBA title.
How many 4-point plays does James Harden have?
According to Basketball Within Borders, James Harden has completed 95 four-point plays. Since the NBA started tracking play-by-play stats in 1996-97, Harden’s 95 four-point plays are most ever.
Harden’s signature step-back three-pointers were a big reason why he has this record. The beard executes his step-back maneuver with remarkable finesse, often leaning subtly into the defender as he releases the ball. This clever deception frequently catches opponents off-guard, leading to situations where Harden not only sinks the 3-pointer, but also gets fouled in the process. This combination results in opportunities for 4-point plays for Harden, and underlines his unique ability to both score a 3-pointer and earn an extra point from the charity stripe.
FAQs
A. In 1979, Sam Smith completed the first 4-point play in NBA history.
A. No. There’s only a 3-point line.
A. James Harden ranks 25th on the all time scoring list with 24,693 points as of October 2023. He is only 122 points behind the 24th ranked Patrick Ewing.
A. James Harden has 23 games where he has scored 50 points or more. That puts him in fourth place on the all time list, behind Wilt Chamberlain, Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant.
