Draymond Green whips up James Harden All-Star buzz on latest podcast: "Running point is who he has been"
Following a rough start, James Harden has come into his own with the LA Clippers. He has played so well in recent months that another former star is making the case for him to be named an All-Star.
During a recent episode of his podcast, Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green opened up on Harden. He applauded his work as the maestro of the LA Clippers' offense and thinks it should result in him making the All-Star team this season.
"Running the point being who James Harden has been. I think by the way James Harden should be an Allstar this year I'm not sure how people are viewing that," Green said. "He's playing at an All-Star-level."
Harden has played in 35 games for the Clippers since being traded from the Philadelphia 76ers during the first week of the season. Playing alongside two stars in Kawhi Leonard and Paul George has caused a slight dip in production, but his numbers are still good. Harden is averaging 16.9 points and 8.4 assists while shooting a career-best 41.9% from beyond the arc.
The Clippers have turned things around in recent weeks, and its resulted in them shooting up the Western Conference standings. They currently sit in fourth place with a 26-14 record. LA is only one game out of second place, and trails the first place Minnesota Timberwolves by three games.
James Harden doing well in All-Star voting
Draymond Green is not the only person around the NBA that has taken notice of James Harden's strong play for the LA Clippers. The former MVP continues to do well in fan voting as he looks to make his first All-Star team since 2022.
Per the latest results, Harden sits in fourth place among Western Conference guards in All-Star fan voting with just over 600,000. The players ahead of him are Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Steph Curry, and Luka Doncic. Considering two of the players are in the MVP conversation, Harden finds himself in good company.
While Harden might be playing at an All-Star level, actually being picked as one might be a tough challenge for him. It's rare for one team to have three players chosen in one year. Not to mention that team is usually a top seed when that happens. Given that the Clippers sit in fourth, they'll likely have two players chosen at most.
As for his star teammates, Kawhi Leonard and Paul George are both in the top 10 for frontcourt players in All-Star voting. Leonard is in the top five with over a million votes, while George is in seventh with over 600,000.
Even though Harden has proven to still be one of the top guards in the league, he could end up being an All-Star snub for the second straight season.