James Harden is in the midst of his most dominant season as a pro. His historic scoring spree has planted him firmly in the discussion of the best offensive players of all-time, a byproduct of which has been the Rockets’ resurgence as the biggest threat to topple the Warriors dynasty.
He has a chance to win his second straight MVP award, and there’s been no shortage of exultant media coverage as Houston’s megastar guard has enraptured us with his record-breaking streak of 30-plus point games and endless highlight-reel plays.
He’s even inspired one graphic artist to create a series of works focused entirely on the Beard’s distinct profile. Croatian illustrator Filip Peraić combined his talent and abiding fandom to produce 26 interpretive portraits, each one stranger and lovelier than the last.
#1 This is how it all started. First portrait, which sparked the idea of doing another one. Didn't think this will go on for years… pic.twitter.com/duGEV8rjfq
— Filip Peraić (@filiperaic) March 26, 2019
Peraić’s portraits immediately went viral when he tweeted them earlier this week, and speaking to Benjamin Hoffman of the New York Times, he talked about his inspiration for the project and beamed about the attention he garnered from NBA Twitter, including a shout-out from Harden himself.
“I started this project just for my own pleasure and to try something else because I wasn’t satisfied with the kind of work I was getting,” Peraić said. “Now art directors come up to me and say, ‘We want this kind of James Harden portrait.’”
Some of his 26 variations on a theme include a map of a fictional Houston terrain, an anatomical drawing of his facial musculature, an homage to pointilism, a Greek bust, and more. Peraić said he plans to tweet out another series on Thursday, and then one each week throughout the playoffs.
