In his prime, James Harden maintained an insane routine: he'd party and drink heavily until 5 a.m., show up for practice at 7 a.m., take a short nap during the day, play an NBA game that night, and then go right back to partying and drinking all over again.

[u/Existing-Sky9914]

https://streamable.com/n7wjgf

[u/ForgottenPoster]

during his stint with the rockets he averaged 76 starts per season

[u/MVPhurricane → u/ForgottenPoster]

the true ironman. what a legendary run. 

[u/sexandliquor → u/MVPhurricane]

He’s like Denzel Washington in that one movie. He was drunk and on coke when that plane was falling apart and about to crash but by god he inverted that mf and piloted the fuck outta it and saved all those passengers

[u/SnowDay111 → u/sexandliquor]

lol Flight. Great movie!

[u/Simple_Pay3033 → u/SnowDay111]

For anyone who hasn’t seen it, yes it’s a great movie. It’s also one of the most brutally real portrayals of alcoholism I’ve seen. Watched it once, loved it, doubt I’ll watch it again.

John Goodman is also fucking fantastic in it.

[u/hereforthefeast → u/Simple_Pay3033]

James Harden walking up to any strip club in the continental US:

"I'm on the list"

[u/mtlaw13 → u/hereforthefeast]

Whip, Banana Boats are comin'!

I NEED A COCOA PUFF

https://youtu.be/RyhPBzfhxAg?si=KC12leat1i_GSZb1&t=208

[u/psychedelijams → u/Simple_Pay3033]

“Hey you, over there”

“Yeah?”

“Give me a coco puff”

“What’s a coco puff”

I forget what he responds with exactly. Like a “jfc what are we doing here”, but John Goodman just incredulous lmao. So funny

[u/SweatyAdhesive → u/psychedelijams]

what i loved about that scene was the straight laced lawyer (played by Don Cheadle) snatched the cigarettes and started making the "coco puff" from the pilot rep (played by Bruce Greenwood), who didn't know what the coco puff is in this scene. All around great casting.

Also John Goodman said something like "amateur hour over here"

[u/BigBoy1229 → u/Simple_Pay3033]

Anything with John Goodman is an immediate watch. He’s awesome in every role. Arachnophobia, King Ralph, The Big Lebowski…

[u/frailgesture → u/SnowDay111]

Rob Zemeckis did us all a favor by casting that actress who shows up in the first scene, good God

[u/EverybodyBuddy → u/sexandliquor]

Movie is actually called “Inverted that MFer”. Great flick 

[u/SeismicRipFart → u/EverybodyBuddy]

My favorite part of the film was during the climax when Denzel said “it’s inverting time”

[u/Gecko17 → u/sexandliquor]

I was drunk

I'm drunk right now

[u/DM-me-your-bazongas → u/Gecko17]

still NL's best impression to date

[u/Trebacca → u/sexandliquor]

“I’m gonna rollllll it” is one of my favorite movie quotes to randomly say

[u/goblin_welder → u/MVPhurricane]

If Steph Curry didn’t exist, Party Harden would have been one of the GOATs.

His Rockets run was legendary only to be brickwalled by the Warrior’s 4 Horseman of Apocalypse

[u/hunteddwumpus → u/goblin_welder]

Hell if CP3 doesn’t get hurt or they make just a couple 3 pointers during the miss streak they might have the honor of defeating the greatest team of all time without any injuries and probably win a title over Bron

[u/skullcandy541 → u/hunteddwumpus]

Insane how different CP and Harden would be viewed today if that happened because they probably never win another chip afterwards anyway if everything played out similarly.

[u/bookjun → u/skullcandy541]

Imagine Jokic still got no ring, damn he might just sit at the same tier as Russ

[u/Narnak → u/bookjun]

Jokic has been a top MVP candidate for like 7 years now its not all about hardware

[u/Ok-Traffic-4188 → u/bookjun]

Russ was never the best player in the world tbf, jokic has a lot over russ ring aside

[u/LegendaryThunderFish → u/hunteddwumpus]

They did hit multiple “and 1” 3 pointers during the streak but the refs waved them off as fouls on the floor. It felt like the refs personally wanted the missing streak to keep going

[u/Chidori_6th → u/ForgottenPoster]

And he averaged around 30 PPG and 9-10 APG in his prime. Insane

[u/Scotch_Blue → u/Chidori_6th]

he played 621 games for the Rockets, 6th all-time

he averaged 29.6ppg and 7.7apg

finished 2nd in total points and 1st in total assists for the franchise in 8 seasons

[u/Firm_Mode_5868 → u/Scotch_Blue]

His 85 game playoff sample size for them is insane too without a single missed playoffs despite some buns ass teams before cp3 showed up

People love using that 2015 season against him for some reason but they shoulda been nowhere near the 2 seed or the wcf. Rockets fans thought that run was a miracle run but people decided to turn it into a negative to shit on him

[u/sleal → u/Firm_Mode_5868]

The 3-1 comeback against the Clippers in 2015 still boggles the mind

[u/fondledbydolphins → u/Chidori_6th]

Imagine what he could have done if he actually slept

[u/wavetoyou → u/fondledbydolphins]

It’s crazy that a player with Harden’s numbers can be a case of “what could have been.” I hope all that partying was worth him not being considered a top 10 player all-time … because I’m going to go ahead and say that if the partying thing is true and not hyperbole then he majorly hamstrung himself. Insane what he was able to do

[u/showerbump → u/wavetoyou]

Hey maybe he needed that “pregame” routine to mentally be at that level. He is the John Daley of the NBA

[u/Lawgang94 → u/wavetoyou]

I hope all that partying was worth him not being considered a top 10 player all-time

I'm sure like most people when we cant sleep at night and we replay our lives it might bother him a little bit to think he hasnt won a championship (yet) but in the grand scheme of it I don't think he thinks about this the way we do. He still made hundreds of millions of dollars was an MVP and a top 75 NBA player of all time thats more than most can say so id imagine hed say it was worth it, he got to live out his dream amd enjoy life the way only a few can.

[u/ethiopian_kid → u/wavetoyou]

None of us will be top ten in our career most likely and are paid a whole of a lot less. Guy has what 300m career earnings and spent a large part of that career partying and drinking. I think he’s satisfied.

[u/super_sayanything → u/wavetoyou]

I think he's just fine.

I'd rather live Harden's career than Kobe's, tbh.

[u/iAmTheRealLange → u/Chidori_6th]

All this is telling me is I need to party more

[u/sloBrodanChillosevic → u/iAmTheRealLange]

Booze is the real performance enhancing drug. Just gotta take some shots in the locker room after the shootaround. 82-0, just like that.

[u/AyMoeKill → u/sloBrodanChillosevic]

I think it was Ron arrest who said he used to take shots of henny during halftime when he was with the bulls lol

[u/risingthermal → u/AyMoeKill]

Might need to be said that the bulls averaged 18 wins in his three seasons there

[u/Bruskthetusk → u/iAmTheRealLange]

All I'm saying is the period while I was an alcoholic was maybe the happiest time in my life, coincidence?

[u/LostEyegod → u/Chidori_6th]

People talk about what if with Shaq, what if he was more professional etc... Harden is a bigger what if IMO.. If we believe even half of the shit said about him and his clubbing routine.. If he was actually more professional what would have stopped him from averaging a 40 point triple double?

[u/Plenty_Function4064 → u/LostEyegod]

Pretty sure it was the booze and strippers giving him that buff. If he didn't party, he probably would be worse lol

[u/CycleV → u/ForgottenPoster]

shit he just played 70 games at age 36, 13th in MPG (35 a night), 18 more playoff games over 37 MPG. He's been an absolute machine for 15 years

[u/osj777 → u/ForgottenPoster]

He didn’t get injured cause he was drunk. Just like when drunk drivers get into accidents and don’t get hurt.

[u/JonTheHobo → u/osj777]

It’s why LeBron starting hitting the wine heavy

[u/laststance → u/osj777]

The crazy thing is Harden has amazing reaction speed. You can see how fast he baited fouls and punished players by reacting and trapping hands and what not.

"I'm going to be an airplane" -Harden right before he lays on Carter.

[u/Several_Direction599 → u/laststance]

Drunken style dribbling

[u/OGrand → u/laststance]

It’s actually scientifically proven that with alcohol in your system, there’s a period where your reaction speed as a whole is in fact the increased.

The issue here is that this window is incredibly small, and this increase in reaction time, an almost negligible amount, is invariably lost by the mountain of other side affects alcohol has on you as alcohol consumption increases.

Said window also varies wildly from person to person.

[u/ashishvp → u/ForgottenPoster]

76 starts per season and 76 lap dances per week

[u/DW-4 → u/ashishvp]

What are we, some kind of Houston 76ers?

[u/_commenter → u/ashishvp]

and not the cheap 10 minute lap dances either

[u/Painwracker_Oni → u/ForgottenPoster]

This is one of those stats that just gets more insane as you think about it.

This dude was getting 2 hours of sleep plus a nap, while very likely hungover or still drunk from the night before.

He played almost all of the games, and was still elite as hell during all of that.

If Harden had the my body is a temple and work ethic of Curry or LeBron he probably would have won a championship and might go down as one of the best players of all time.

He was insanely elite while treating his body like dog shit.

Just incredible.

[u/6ca → u/ForgottenPoster]

The best ability is availability, as they say

[u/Rashloose]

if true its insane how his body held up during his prime

[u/rawspeghetti → u/Rashloose]

He's on a short list with LeBron, Kareem, Karl and very few others for most durable super stars in NBA history

[u/theoneviceroy → u/rawspeghetti]

John Stockton played 1504 out of 1526 games in his career. Deserves a mention.

[u/WayTooLazyOmg → u/theoneviceroy]

while also playing in the olympics & some deep playoff runs. truly bananas. when you’re younger, you don’t appreciate records like that. then, when you get older, you realize records like this & Cal Ripken’s in baseball is literally unfathomable

[u/sabinscabin → u/theoneviceroy]

being 170 lbs probably makes a huge difference, plus also the lack of partying. His game was also not very vertical.

[u/theoneviceroy → u/sabinscabin]

True. But, he also played in an era of much greater physicality and was a notorious screen setter on much bigger players. I would think the 170 pounds was more of a detriment at that time considering the lane was packed with huge bodies. All the top 10 games played leaders are abnormally large human beings….except John Stockton.

[u/Great_Fault_7231 → u/sabinscabin]

Why would taking better care of his body take away from how durable he was?

[u/CIark → u/rawspeghetti]

Imagine if he wasn’t addicted to strip clubs and cheeseburgers

[u/Relevant-Diamond2731 → u/CIark]

The man had put a lot of strippers through college

[u/TotalEmployment9996 → u/Relevant-Diamond2731]

A true man of the people

[u/upclassytyfighta → u/TotalEmployment9996]

Comrade Harden!

[u/bluehoag → u/upclassytyfighta]

Laying pipe as praxis

[u/MaraudingWalrus → u/upclassytyfighta]

James "literally Hitler Lenin" Harden

[u/WhiskeyTangoBush → u/Relevant-Diamond2731]

My gf rented an apartment to one of Harden’s hoes. She recognized his face [beard] at the time, but didn’t know who he was. He co-signed on the lease, then she never saw him again. According to her, this woman was one of the most ratchet hoes, and basically destroyed that apartment 🤣.

[u/horse_renoir13 → u/WhiskeyTangoBush]

"Harden's Hoes"

Man he should trademark that while he has the chance

[u/Professional-Lie309 → u/CIark]

That's his fuel.

[u/mw19078 → u/CIark]

im just gonna say it, maybe thats what kept him healthy lmao

[u/Jniuzz → u/CIark]

It probably kept him balanced though, mental release plays a big part

[u/buffalowangy → u/CIark]

I imagine he wouldn’t have played as well without them

[u/NDinFL → u/CIark]

Two of the most notorious addictions to break

[u/B_Boudreaux → u/CIark]

Mans gotta eat…

[u/Em4gdn3m → u/CIark]

Same could be said of me.

[u/devadander23 → u/rawspeghetti]

Ignoring the 1986 season when MJ broke his foot, he only missed a total of 7 games for the entirety of his career.

[u/fumar → u/rawspeghetti]

Mj was durable too but he also retired twice. LeBron was an insane iron man until he got on the lakers

[u/CountOff → u/fumar]

We were prob a Solomon Hill away from LeBron playing even longer

[u/Caboclo-Is2yearsAway → u/fumar]

Absolutely. Did baseball conditioning for a few years and when he came back to basketball he didnt miss a game until his next retirement.

[u/Hopsalong → u/rawspeghetti]

Embiid, AD, and Zion should've hit more strip clubs every day to stay healthy it seems.

[u/Ojmochafrappucino → u/rawspeghetti]

Did you forget MJ and his legendary partying habits?

[u/Remote-Ranger-7721 → u/Rashloose]

I genuinely can’t believe it because of this. If I’m out drinking and shit until 5am, I couldn’t do shit at 9am never mind at 7am. Either Harden wasn’t really drinking a lot when he was out that late, or it’s bullshit.

[u/SerDavosSeaworth64 → u/Remote-Ranger-7721]

Yeah I feel like this HAS to be at least exaggerated. He was a WORKHORSE for a lot of those years. There just is no way that he was binge drinking and partying that frequently.

[u/MysteriousAge28 → u/SerDavosSeaworth64]

If we were to believe that story he played most of his career drunk

[u/Haunting-Worker-2301 → u/MysteriousAge28]

Am guessing this happened more than a few times so it gets told like this but didn’t happen as much as the storyteller implies.

[u/yeartwelve → u/Haunting-Worker-2301]

https://www.reddit.com/r/nba/comments/1uwihf3/comment/oxjhv62

[u/kiernanblack → u/MysteriousAge28]

NBA games are at 7pm at night. This is just about getting shots up in the morning.

[u/connor24_22 → u/SerDavosSeaworth64]

I think for some of these top-tier athletes it's certainly possible though. What sets a lot of them apart from the average person is their top percentile physicality. It's not a one to one comparison, but star football players like Calvin Johnson played high all the time, MLB players in the 80s were coked out every game, hell Dock Ellis threw a no-hitter on acid.

[u/NegativesPositives → u/SerDavosSeaworth64]

I mean, AI probably went harder and barely ever even got subbed out of games, Jordan could be gambling all night in playoff series, Magic Johnson was half socialite half NBA player, and those are just the names off the top of my head.

They’re genetically built different already just to be able to be in the NBA. Then there’s the ones that are built different-er.

[u/gamer-at-heart-23 → u/SerDavosSeaworth64]

Definitely exaggerated, at some point every week or 2 your body just crashes and pleads for more sleep so i bet he definitely took longer naps or a night off of partying to sleep

[u/cheezefriez → u/SerDavosSeaworth64]

Alex ovechkin became the leading goal scorer in NHL history fueled by nothing but subway sandwiches, hot Cheetos, chicken parm and Diet Coke

[u/Ok-Name-5504 → u/cheezefriez]

And beer, lots of beer

[u/Igualmenteee → u/cheezefriez]

So I have a chance

[u/cheezefriez → u/Igualmenteee]

Yeah man get out there and show em what you got

[u/benigntugboat → u/SerDavosSeaworth64]

We have so much evidence of it with rodman who had less advanced recovery options and played a way more physical style. So its not possible for many but its possible

[u/Neatojuancheeto → u/benigntugboat]

Yes lots of players did this sometimes. Like 2-3 nights a week. They're framing it like harden did this every night over an 82 game schedule which simply isn't possible. No way you keep up being a professional athlete on 3-4 hours of sleep + binge drinking every night.

[u/JimC29 → u/SerDavosSeaworth64]

I don't know. When I was in my 20s I had friends that were roofers. Thru would drink until 3am and be on the job by 5.

That's hard hot work for 8+ hours after drinking all night. They worked until early afternoon then went home and slept. Then do it again the next night. They said that they would sweat the alcohol out quickly.

[u/ginamegi → u/SerDavosSeaworth64]

It probably happened once or twice, but he’s framing it like a daily thing and there’s just no way that’s true

[u/Suomiballer → u/SerDavosSeaworth64]

Some people just built different lol

[u/mynewaltaccount1 → u/Suomiballer]

There's built different and there's not possible. There's no way he was training while shitfaced every single day and then getting a couple of hours of sleep, playing a game a repeating that. Can definitely see him doing that a couple of times but no way he was doing that every day.

[u/SaxRohmer → u/mynewaltaccount1]

there was this study a while back about how drinking affected athletes. they tested rugby players after a night of drinking. most of them had their test levels and stuff drop after a night out but a few guys had test levels even higher the next day. this routine is probably exaggerated but there’s def a built different component to it as well

[u/Alarmed-Resource6406 → u/Remote-Ranger-7721]

It definitely not happening every night but probably did happen enough for people to talk about it. In my 20s, I had gone from work to rave all night popping pills to work again next day without sleep and I just do some weekly workouts, Harden is elite. 

[u/Plane-Session-6624 → u/Remote-Ranger-7721]

Some people are just different and tolerance to abusing your body does build. When I was 22 I did hard construction labour. I'd get 9-10 hours of sleep to wake up at 4:30 am and then work 9-10 hours and I'd be fried by the end of the day.

I worked with a guy in his 40s, lived with his mom, in and out of jail, didn't have a license so I actually picked him up and drove him to the sites a lot.

Bro could outwork anyone after staying up all night drinking and snorting coke. Like the bosses had to tell him to chill because he'd walk up the chute of a cement truck with a shovel to clear a blockage 

[u/MC_JACKSON → u/Remote-Ranger-7721]

Lou Williams told a story about how he showed up to a Clippers game drunk

[u/TheMeepz → u/Remote-Ranger-7721]

He had to have slept more than what is described here. He makes it sound like he only slept 3 hours a day.

[u/RileyHuey → u/Rashloose]

It’s probably not true if we’re being realistic.

[u/LilBoneAir]

For Harden's notorious love for partying and strip clubs it really is impressive that he has had virtually no off the court issues

[u/BWolfy92 → u/LilBoneAir]

No time for that when you have 3 girls in each hand

[u/Relevant-Diamond2731 → u/BWolfy92]

Along with financial support of strippers he does a lot of philanthropy for women outside the strip club

[u/DayComprehensive1078 → u/Relevant-Diamond2731]

He gives a lot to Charity

[u/flea61 → u/DayComprehensive1078]

Load-bearing capital C

[u/busroute → u/DayComprehensive1078]

...and Destiny, and Jade.

[u/chasinggpeace → u/LilBoneAir]

He don’t have internet

[u/Daniiiiii → u/chasinggpeace]

He doesn't have the internet

[u/chuckbuck6 → u/Daniiiiii]

He doesn’t do the emails

[u/DownWithFlairs → u/chuckbuck6]

THE emails?! It’s “email”

[u/Jeff__Skilling → u/chuckbuck6]

IT'S JUST "EMAIL"!

[u/chuckbuck6 → u/Jeff__Skilling]

Oh my god that phone is PREPOSTEROUS?!

[u/Itsmedudeman → u/LilBoneAir]

Some people are just a good time when they're partying and drunk

[u/BreastFeedMe- → u/Itsmedudeman]

This is the reason I got away with being an alcoholic for so long, I was an angry miserable asshole whenever I WASNT drinking. Turns out that was just horrible depression though. I never really had an incident drinking, never got my ass beat or arrested, did blow a lot of money though.

[u/JigglesTheBiggles → u/BreastFeedMe-]

Same here. The only thing I did wrong was fuck up my own liver.

[u/IAmNotKevinDurant_35 → u/LilBoneAir]

The smartest thing he ever did was not being a big social media guy

[u/Jeff__Skilling → u/LilBoneAir]

i think its hilarious u kids talking shit about harden. u wouldnt say this shit to him at lan, hes jacked. not only that but he wears the freshest clothes, eats at the chillest restaurants and hangs out with the hottest dudes. yall are pathetic lol

[u/BidensProstate → u/Jeff__Skilling]

Haven't seen this pasta in AGES lol.

[u/postpwnedmalone → u/Jeff__Skilling]

magnificently done

[u/WestSixtyFifth → u/LilBoneAir]

Partying and strip clubs doesn’t make you a bad person / creep, plenty of respectable people just want to have a good time.

[u/Human_On_Reddit → u/WestSixtyFifth]

Ethical clubbing

[u/Aromatic-Bit-1425]

And averaged 30 for 4 straight years before then averaging 10 assists for the next 3 years

[u/Key_Change_6635 → u/Aromatic-Bit-1425]

I know we nitpick Harden, but some dudes are seriously built different. Most people would need a day or two to recover and Harden just takes a few naps and casually becomes the entire offense night after night. Crazy

[u/Bosurd → u/Key_Change_6635]

He’s a linebacker playing point guard in the NBA. Bros a tank.

[u/302born → u/Bosurd]

It’s why despite his perimeter defense being pretty subpar his post defense has always been something that really grabs your attention. I’ve seen this dude hold his own against Giannis in the post and not budge. Man is strong as hell

[u/Immynimmy → u/Key_Change_6635]

lol nitpick? This sub starts frothing at the mouth with anger when discussing harden

[u/dkfreezy]

Shout out to that one Reddit study of city strip club rating and quality of play from Harden. 😂

[u/doushiyou6969 → u/dkfreezy]

him being notably worse @ miami was the funniest and most predictable part of it

[u/Ready_Opportunity766 → u/doushiyou6969]

man he gave toronto hell for their lack of gentlemen’s clubs

[u/Conn3er]

He is this generation's Charles Barkley

[u/menghis_khan08 → u/Conn3er]

More Rodman-esque really. Barkley would party and play but mostly he ate like crazy and didn’t take working out super seriously

[u/nah_dude_lol → u/menghis_khan08]

I mean…

[u/zebragopherr → u/nah_dude_lol]

Yea does he not remember harden showing up to camp fat lol

[u/livefreeordont → u/zebragopherr]

Didn’t we all decide he wasn’t fat and that it was just a fat suit that he could take off as soon as he’s traded?

[u/BlacqanSilverSun → u/livefreeordont]

I remember the one year it was clear he was fat as shit (for a pro athlete haha) and I mentioned it and rockets fans thought I slapped their momma. They were bringing up body mass index and showing clips of chubby guys doing flips haha. It was a thing.

[u/livefreeordont → u/BlacqanSilverSun]

Was that the year he got traded to Brooklyn and immediately balled out?

[u/PortWine → u/BlacqanSilverSun]

im fucking dying. its like a flat earther sending you conspiracy youtube videos.

[u/Dks0507 → u/menghis_khan08]

Rodman was just on another level haha

[u/McJuggernaugh7 → u/menghis_khan08]

Rodman was one of the most in shape nba players ever though. Harden while durable, showed a ton of fatigue in the playoffs and definitely was out of shape at times (especially during his later rockets phase).

[u/Redscareforcishetmen → u/McJuggernaugh7]

Yeah James took a few plays off lol

[u/Duel_Option → u/McJuggernaugh7]

Rodman was a god damn beast, Phil Jackson said he was the best athlete he had ever coached.

Read that again.

MJ, Pippen, Kobe, Shaq amongst others and Rodman is who he chooses.

6’7 220lbs of pure stamina and didn’t mind going at bigger guys who outweighed him by 50 some lbs

As much as I enjoyed watching the second 3-peat with the Bulls, Rodman years were my favorite

[u/iiamthepalmtree → u/menghis_khan08]

I feel like when you’re describing Barkley you’re pretty close to Harden. Like, Rodman straight up no showed the bulls one time because he was partying and then was in Monday Night Raw and the Bulls were like “uhh, wtf are you doing?” And then Phil had to be like “okay whatever you can leave the team for a few days and party.” And just by looking at Rodman’s goofy hair and dress you can tell he was eccentric.

Harden feels like the more lowkey partier like Barkley. Quiet and no off court drama and if you only watched games you would have no idea what he did outside of games. Rodman let that lifestyle affect his availability, harden didn’t.

[u/joshdej]

Maybe he should do it again. He was playing his best ball then

Causation>Correlation

[u/Important-Net-9805 → u/joshdej]

you hit a wall in your 30s bro. i can do a few days in a row not getting enough sleep but it catches up with me now and i have to sleep hard like 2 days in a row to get back to normal

[u/drugaddict6969 → u/Important-Net-9805]

Amen brother. Can hang with the young bulls still but need a fuck ton of PEDs and then Mon/Tues is absolutely chalked.

[u/OMGWhatsHisFace → u/drugaddict6969]

I can tell you’re old cause your handle is “6969” instead of “6767”

[u/HobbitDowneyJr → u/OMGWhatsHisFace]

some quantum shit right here

[u/laststance → u/Important-Net-9805]

Most people age in big steps at certain land marks. Your organs age a lot at 30 then every 5 or 7 years after it goes through a huge drop in productivity.

A big thing that hits people is noticing how they can't stay awake when they want to and they also can't fall asleep or get deep sleep.

[u/ExcitingLandscape]

I love hearing these stories. Like how AI would party all night at TGI Fridays then proceed to drop 40. Jordan gambling all night, playing golf in the morning, then playing in a game during the 92 dream team Olympics.

Despite the Kobe Mamba Mentality of grinding 24/7/365 on your craft, many of these guys just have natural god given ability to excel at their sport at the highest level with very little effort.

[u/swan797 → u/ExcitingLandscape]

"Little effort" is an unfair characterization. These guys are still practicing and training like crazy, they just aren't investing in recovery and are pushing their bodies to the limit. Jordan's work ethic in practice is fucking legendary. Nobody took practice more seriously. Harden is also a notorious hard worker (see JVG quotes).

They obviously have meaningful genetic advantages, but to pretend its with "little effort" is egrigious.

[u/slee-p → u/ExcitingLandscape]

I read 24/7/365 as a stat line and was so confused for a moment. I’m cooked lol

[u/newusernamecoming → u/ExcitingLandscape]

Jordan’s work ethic is legendary and possibly the strongest of any player to play the game. He was always early and treated every practice like a game. Staying out late does not equate to putting in little effort

[u/ExcitingLandscape → u/newusernamecoming]

Yea but for many players, staying out late gambling puffing cigars and drinking would negatively affect their in game performance. Many players have to get 8 hours of sleep and maintain a STRICT diet to perform well on game day. Jordan wasn't putting effort into recovery because he was genetically gifted.

[u/ClassicTrainer7425]

Ball player. Cooked the whole league for a while doing it too

[u/Ok-Tree4365]

How can someone actually believe this?

[u/putdahaakin → u/Ok-Tree4365]

Right, this is spoken like dude is functioning off 5 hours of non-consecutive sleep a day for years with alcohol and high wear on the body. This is not likely a true recount of his actual routine.

[u/CauliflowerPlayful27 → u/Ok-Tree4365]

I really had to scroll this far down for this, people don't question anything they hear these days if it fits whatever narrative they want to create.

[u/dearth_karmic → u/CauliflowerPlayful27]

people don't question anything they hear these days if it fits whatever narrative they want to create.

Or respond to.

[u/Exciting_Mobile_1484 → u/CauliflowerPlayful27]

Also same reason I'm here. This sub can be so painful.

[u/Pal__Pacino → u/Ok-Tree4365]

It's definitely exaggerated, but probably not too far off. His partying habits in Houston were well documented.

[u/SCP239 → u/Pal__Pacino]

I think it's the other way around. This probably happened once or maybe a few times during his career but there's no way it was the norm.

[u/Ok-Adeptness-5834 → u/SCP239]

It was the norm. People in Houston were pretty aware.

[u/swan797 → u/Pal__Pacino]

My favorite Harden-ism without a doubt is them retiring his jersey at strip club and hanging it up. No clue if true, but I remember seeing that on this sub like 10 years ago or something, and always struck me as a consequential lifetime goal.

[u/LightSpecialist804 → u/Ok-Tree4365]

there's not a NBA game everyday. Teams also dont hold practice everyday during the regular season

Most times if a NBA players parties until 5am, they can still find 7-8 hours of sleep later in the day

[u/sir_alvarex → u/LightSpecialist804]

That "nap" was probably 4 hours. Some NBA players live this style BECAUSE it helps regulate their sleep so they can nap pre game and be fresh for night games. Its one reason early tip offs are usually sluggish for players because that's their nap time.

[u/TurianGhost → u/Ok-Tree4365]

A ton of great hall of fame players tell stories similar to this. Some players are just built different. Dennis Rodman was probably the most well known for doing this exact same thing. But even Shaq & Barkley also have similar stories as well.

Not that hard to believe that James Harden did this. Now did he do it every night? Probably not.

[u/sctthuynh]

Harden definitely partied a ton while he was in Houston and I think most of these stories are true with only a little exaggeration.

However I doubt Harden was routinely getting up at 7am to work out after partying all night.  He may have done it on occasion, but definitely not often.

NBA players typically don't get up untill late in the afternoon since night games and travel means they are out very late most nights. 

Wade, Shaq and Harlem has shared similar stories in Miami and how they made Riley change the practice time to later.  

[u/sir_alvarex → u/sctthuynh]

This. Players also have spoken about taking naps after morning practice, too, to ensure theyre fresh for night games. Their circadian rhythm is just fucked up compared to a normal person's.

[u/HucktoMe]

He really embraced the Jordan way, didn't he?

[u/BoogerSugarSovereign → u/HucktoMe]

Jordan was a heavy gambler, golfer, and womanizer during his playing days and often stayed out late but I never heard of him being a heavy drinker. 

[u/HucktoMe → u/BoogerSugarSovereign]

He was a well known drinker -- drank beers on the golf course and whiskey in the bars.

[u/Single_Passenger → u/HucktoMe]

Except for the winning part.

[u/SeizureMode → u/Single_Passenger]

James Harden is the only player to make the playoffs in 17 straight years

[u/Firm_Mode_5868 → u/Single_Passenger]

I mean he won a lot. He took bad teams further than they were meant to go all the time. You just cant realistically solo to a chip despite that being what people expected from him

[u/Reasonable-Bit560 → u/Single_Passenger]

Idk, what teams were really going for it during the prime Warriors runs? Pretty much Harden' Rockets and LeBrons Cavs.

Kinda says a lot and some of it is just timing.

[u/cricket9818]

Sounds pretty alcoholic like

[u/finix2409 → u/cricket9818]

I’m James Harden

[u/dolfan1 → u/finix2409]

Same bro

[u/nowhathappenedwas]

Covington is talking about his rookie 2013-2014 season. I'm skeptical that Covington had a ton of insight into Harden's lifestyle during his rookie season.

Covington spent almost the entire season (48 games) in the G-League. He only played 7 games for the Rockets and was waived after the season.

I'm sure Harden partied hard, especially at the start of his career, but this seems more like what Covington saw once or what he heard rather than what he regularly observed.

[u/Peregrinations12 → u/nowhathappenedwas]

Yeah, this reads more like "here's a crazy story everyone told the rookie"

[u/420_69_Fake_Account]

And people think Joel eating stadium food before the game was impressive…

[u/Individual_Log8082]

This changes the way I feel about prime Harden. I was always mad that he would fall down after hitting a 3 thinking he was foul baiting. Little did I know he was just falling down cause he was still drunk. I can respect that.

[u/HtownSamson]

32 straight games with at least 30 points. Makes you wonder what he could have done with more focus.

[u/Smekledorf1996 → u/HtownSamson]

He was definitely focused lol

I don’t get this narrative that Harden is some lethargic player who just woke up and decided to become one of the best offensive engines in the league

Even with all of the strip club and partying stories, the dude is known to be a workhorse

[u/turkishguy → u/HtownSamson]

I think he has that thing where he is actually better when he's doing this. I don't think he would've had his success had he followed the expected work hard all the time routine and prepare well and whatnot. Granted that's why he could never get over the hump in the playoffs but I also don't think we would've gotten as far as we did had Harden just been normal.

[u/JasperFeelingsworth → u/HtownSamson]

I truly think some high talent/high success people need all that extra shit to clear their mind or something, he might not have been the same staying at home every night

[u/theyoloGod]

I can definitely imagine him doing this a couple times but long term he’ll have to sleep eventually. So basically a long nap instead

[u/These-Pack-1651]

Honestly his schedule wasn’t that bad. Bro treated the nba like he’s working the nightshift lmfaoooo.

[u/the_chin2]

Dennis Rodman was the same.

"While playing for the San Antonio Spurs, Rodman went out in Phoenix the night before a game against the Suns. He ran into Suns star Charles Barkley at the bar, but while Barkley went home at a reasonable hour, Rodman stayed up drinking "Sex on the Beach" shots until sunrise.
​The Morning After: When Rodman walked into shootaround, his teammates immediately backed away. Rodman recalled, "Everyone on my team was like, 'GOD DAMN, YOU STINK LIKE A BREWERY.'"
​The Game: During warmups, the bright arena lights and blaring music gave him a brutal hangover headache. Barkley looked at him on the court and asked, "What the f** did you do last night?"*
​The Result: As the game went on, Rodman literally sweated out the liquor. He posted 13 points and 15 rebounds, helping the Spurs blow out the Suns so badly that he sat out the entire 4th quarter."

[u/thy_armageddon]

That’s just being Kiefer Sutherland.

[u/this_my_sportsreddit]

We talking bout practice?

[u/ThinkSoftware]

Sounds like he had a drinking job with a basketball problem

[u/Over_Deer8459]

you know what, maybe Harden just never really cared about winning a ring and all he wanted was to ball out, make money and have a good time. which to us makes us think he is trash, overrated or not a winner. but if dude is living life the way he wants to, who are we to say anything. bro is mega rich and probably has a bunch of fun stories to tell

[u/Old_Worldliness_5015]

james harden, hunter s thompson reader

“Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming "Wow! What a Ride!”

[u/NYPD-BLUE]

I truly believe these crazy routine stories are one off events (that are probably exaggerated at that) that then get parroted until it’s just accepted this is what he was doing every night. There’s simply no way.

[u/KuroSaruBlade]

He'd leave girls overnight in hotels outside of Houston, ladies would proceed to trash the rooms, he wouldn't tip either, just pay the cleaning or break charges, rude mfkr too, i talk from experience working while he did this basically every weekend