We might be approaching the point where James Harden has nothing left to prove. An NBA MVP and a 11-time All-Star with three regular season scoring titles, Harden has cemented his place as one of his generation’s greatest scorers, albeit with some controversy as to how he gets his buckets. 

The results speak for themselves, though, as apart from the individual accolades, Harden’s teams have made the postseason 17 times, a figure that becomes all the more remarkable considering the combo guard has been in the NBA for 17 seasons. 

On top of that, Harden has a budding family, one he hopes to secure a future for (although his earnings have pretty much done that). 

Yet even at this stage, there might still be something worth chasing. 

Harden’s career has been marked by some inconsistency, particularly in the postseason where teams tend to stymie his offensive prowess. While he has been to the NBA Finals, that trip was almost a decade and a half ago. The California native’s teams have never gone beyond the doorstep since then and for a player of his stature, that can certainly be a nagging feeling more than Harden would like to admit. But maybe that’s why he and the Cleveland Cavaliers were meant to be together right now. 

The Cavs themselves are going through a similar path. They’re a good team, especially with what they’ve built in recent years, but Cleveland has never made the great leap since LeBron James led them to the NBA Finals. Harden joining the team did coincide with a return to the Eastern Conference Finals, but it felt like the Cavs’ efforts were for naught as they got swept by the eventual champion New York Knicks. 

This season, though, Harden seems determined to leave nothing to chance. 

At a time when his peers are easing themselves back into the rigors of an NBA season, Harden was firing on all cylinders, knocking down shots from all over half court and doing so despite defenses being pretty much blanketing him. The efficiency (70 percent shooting from the field) was on point and the assists, though not in high volume, still indicated he was connecting with his teammates. That the Olympic gold medallist was responsible for 29 points in 26 minutes means he’s much closer to midseason form. 

It’s a great start for Harden, who has been knocked for sluggish offseason concerns in the past. He was raring to compete even in his first preseason game, even when the stakes were low and the players he faced may not be the ones he’ll encounter once the regular season begins. Nonetheless, it sets the tone even for veterans like Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley, and Jarrett Allen, all of whom will take cues from Harden despite being on Cleveland’s roster longer than him. 

At the end of the day, though, that’s how players learn to win. Whether it’s a change in approach or learning from someone new, players and teams find ways to get better and take the best practices in order to succeed. James Harden is making the most out of his first full offseason with the Cleveland Cavaliers and while the earlier returns are promising, the hope is that this carries into the regular season. 

After all, strong starts are commonplace; it’s how you finish seasons that matter more.