For a man who arguably isn’t even the best player on his own NBA team, James Harden is being counted on to fill some gigantic shoes starting this weekend when Team USA is set to take the floor against Finland for the start of the FIBA World Cup.
USA Basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo fingers Harden as the man to watch on the cusp of an opening week trek of five games in seven days. “Right now, I think I would look to Harden as that leader,” he insisted. “Harden is kind of a natural leader and he seems to be willing to accept that role. And you can just kind of feel it and sense. He’s the one.”
Fortunately for Colangelo, convincing the Houston Rockets star and the NBA’s No. 5 overall scorer last season that he’s worthy of such status won’t come as a hard sell. Earlier this month, Harden boldly pronounced himself the “best player alive.”
Harden’s confidence and moxie aside, all Team USA’s hard-luck experiences over the last several weeks begs the question of what can earnestly be expected from this squad, particularly given that to grasp gold they almost assuredly will have to get by a Spain team that counts Pau and Mark Gasol, Serge Ibaka, Ricky Rubio, Rudy Fernandez and Juan Carlos Navarro among its diamonds in the rough.
Yet, it’s not a challenge the fifth-year veteran is backing away from. “I don’t know if he’s been waiting to lead,” Colangelo said of the man he maintains has also been Team USA’s most vocal leader over the course of their still unfettered journey. “It’s evolved,” he added. “He came in as a pretty high draft pick. Got off to a great start in Oklahoma City. Whether he was disappointed or surprised by what transpired, he found himself in another uniform and that’s part of life in pro sports and the NBA, and I think he’s adjusted to that and his numbers get bigger and he’s being recognized more and more as the player he is. And this is a great platform for him to come out as a leader.”
And it’s not as if the 25-year-old Harden’s growth hasn’t been evident for all to bear witness. Not necessarily known as one of the league’s better defenders, Harden has clearly given greater effort to that end of the floor as he prepares for his foray on the world stage.
“I’ve got a long way to go, a lot of learning to do, improvements to make,” he said. “Um, you know, as long as I’m listening and focused on the right things, I can reach my potential.”
And with that, perhaps Team USA will also find a way to reach theirs over the next tightly condensed several weeks.
