He is widely regarded as one of the greatest scorers and shooting guards in NBA history. In 2021, JAMES HARDEN was honored as one of the league's top 75 players by being named to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team. Harden played college basketball for the Arizona State Sun Devils, where he was named a consensus All-American and Pac-10 Player of the Year in 2009. Harden was selected with the third overall pick in the 2009 NBA draft by the Oklahoma City Thunder. In 2012, he was named NBA Sixth Man of the Year and helped Oklahoma City reach the NBA Finals, where they lost to the Miami Heat in five games. After the Thunder ref新品 to offer him a max contract extension, Harden was unwilling to take a pay cut and was subsequently traded to the Houston Rockets before the 2012–13 season.