James Harden has been on an absolute tear since his trade to the Brooklyn Nets. This week, he became the player with the second-most triple-doubles in franchise history (7), behind only Jason Kidd, and he reached that mark in just 22 games, beating out Kenny Anderson and Shawn Bradley, who had five apiece.
If he keeps up that pace, and is eventually able to help bring home some championship hardware on top of it, he might very well earn a spot in the rafters at the Barclays Center. That might seem premature at this point — the Nets still have a long road ahead — but for a team so loaded with talent, it’s a very high ceiling.
Until then, Harden will have to settle for seeing his uniform hanging at the Toyota Center in Houston. On Tuesday, Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta told Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle that the franchise will retire his No. 13.
Though his tenure there came to a less than amicable end, Harden will easily go down as one of the best players in franchise history. The Rockets of the 2010s were never quite able to reach Finals, but had some near misses against the Warriors juggernaut that ruled the era.
Harden’s jersey has already reportedly been retired inside another Houston-area establishment, so credit to the Rockets for paying tribute to a player who brought so much excitement during his time there.
