NBA: Stephen Curry headlines a redrafting of the 2009 draft class

2. Memphis Grizzlies – James Harden, Arizona State

With the second pick of the 2009 NBA draft, the Memphis Grizzlies select James Harden, from Arizona State University.

One of the best offensive players of all time. James Harden can and does score at will. For his career, Harden averages 25.1 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 6.3 assists per game on 44-36-86 shooting splits and a career PER (Player Efficiency Rating) of 24.7. His resume includes a league MVP award, eight-time NBA All-Star, six All-NBA teams, a Sixth Man of the Year award, two scoring titles, and one assist title.

When looking at Harden’s career numbers, you see 25-5-6 per game and think, “Wow, that looks low.”  And it does look low. Because for the last few years, Harden has easily been the best scorer in the league. Since 2012-13, Harden has averaged 29.6 points a game on 44-36-86, taking 20 shots and NINE (9) 3’s a game.

When you break those numbers down further, it gets even more ridiculous. Over the last THREE seasons (2017-20), he is averaging 33.7 points, 6.1 rebounds, 7.9 assists and 1.8 steals a game, shooting his 44-36-87 (very consistent) splits, taking 23 shots and 12 3pointers a game.

In 2016-17, Harden finished second in MVP voting behind his new teammate Russell Westbrook in a season where he averaged a double-double (29.1 points and 11.2 assists). The following season (2017-18), Harden finally got his MVP award, averaging 30, five, and nine in a season that saw him notch a 60-point, 10-rebound, 11-assist triple-double, the first 60 point triple-double in NBA history.

Then, the season after that (2018-19), Harden averaged more than 35 points a game (36.1), something that had not been done since Kobe Bryant in 2005-06 (35.4) and Michael Jordan (37.1) before that in 1986-87.

During that season, Harden had a stretch of games that had only been done one other time in the history of the league. He went on a streak in which he scored 30 or more points in 32 consecutive games. Only Wilt Chamberlain has had a longer streak (65!) of games of 30 or more points. During the streak, Harden averaged a preposterous 41 points per game, and it included a number of big shots and performances that have been credited with turning the Rockets season around.

Before Harden’s streak of games, the Rockets were 13-14. When his streak ended, the Rockets found themselves at 33-25, and back in the playoff picture.

James Harden has played a significant role in shaping the way the game is played in its current state. He is the best scorer in the league hands down. For the last several years he has been a top-5 player in the league and is a future Hall of Famer. In the 2009 redraft, James Harden goes second overall to the Grizzlies.