NBA Rumors - James Harden wants to reunite with Russell Westbrook
According to recent reports, James Harden expressed interest in reuniting with his former teammate Russell Westbrook. Both players go way back since their days with the OKC Thunder. Before Harden became the superstar that he is today, he lived under the shadows of Westbrook and Kevin Durant. The deadly trio established their dominance in the West and even made a finals appearance.
James Harden then left to become his own man with the Houston Rockets. Eventually, Westbrook found himself suiting up for the Rockets, ultimately reuniting with his old teammate in 2019. Having that in mind, it's no surprise that Harden wants a do-over. Given how Westbrook took a huge pay cut, the LA Clippers could possibly acquire Harden via a trade.
James Harden reportedly wants to reunite with Russell Westbrook, per @joeylinn_ https://t.co/cZyHNbMn1K
Looking back at James Harden and Russell Westbrook's first reunion in the 2019-20 NBA season
During the 2019-20 NBA season, the unthinkable happened. Russell Westbrook was no longer with the OKC Thunder and found himself playing together with his old teammate James Harden for the Houston Rockets. Considering how both were MVP-caliber players at the time, a lot of hype surrounded their surprising reunion.
Unfortunately, things didn't go as expected considering how they failed to make a deep playoff run after getting knocked out in the semifinals by the LA Lakers. But that doesn't mean nothing came good out of their brief stint together.
As a Rockets duo, Harden and Westbrook established their dominance in the West. Harden put on another spectacular season performance when he averaged 34.3 points, 7.5 assists, 6.6 rebounds, and 1.8 steals per game.
Despite Harden clearly having more ball time compared to his teammates, Russell Westbrook was still able to match his level. Westbrook proved to be valuable for Houston as he averaged 27.2 ppg, 7.9 rpg, 7.0 apg, and 1.6 spg. Both superstars were clearly doing everything right as they secured the 4th seed in the West with a 44-28 record.
Now that Harden has expressed interest in reuniting with his old friend once again, there's a huge possibility of it happening, especially if the data of them playing together is analyzed. Their chemistry is spot-on, which could put their team at an advantage. As for which team the two superstars might play for, that remains to be seen.