James Harden gets a lot flack. Whether it’s the beard, the rip-through maneuver that the league banned, or the Euro step that he perfected, most of it is noise. The one criticism that does have merit, and puts a hard ceiling on his place among the all-time greats, is his empty postseason trophy case. Harden, of course, has never won an NBA Championship. In fact, he’s only made the NBA Finals once, and that was way back in 2012 when he was still a 6th man for the Thunder. Steph Curry, Kevin Durant, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Nikola Jokic are all players from Harden’s era who are safely ahead of him on the GOAT list, and it has everything to do with playoff success, or lack thereof. While that might keep Harden from cracking the top-ten, it doesn’t keep him from running neck-and-neck with Karl Malone as the greatest player to never win an NBA Championship. 

Harden’s regular season resume is among the best in the history of the league. He won the MVP in 2018, and finished second in MVP voting three times. The other players to have four top-2 finishes in MVP voting? Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, Nikola Jokic, Tim Duncan, LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Jerry West, and Bob Pettit. Company doesn’t get much more impressive than that. Harden was also named 1st Team All-NBA six times, which is more than Curry, Kevin Garnett, and Dirk Nowitzki.

Harden became a glorified cheat code after he first perfected the aforementioned Euro step, and then paired it with a historically uncanny ability to draw fouls and make three-pointers. He took the “threes or layups” mantra that has taken the NBA by storm one step further by unearthing “threes or free throws.”  Harden’s ability to score in a variety ways, and do it efficiently has resulted in a remarkable ledger of unique accomplishments:

Harden’s Achievements

1). The only player in NBA history to average at least 36 points per game in a season with a .600 True Shooting %.

2). The only player in NBA history to average at least 30 points and 7.5 assists for three consecutive seasons. 

3). The only season in NBA history with at least 750 free throws made and at least 350 3-pointers made. 

4). The only player in NBA history to score at least 23 points per game, accumulate 8,000 career assists, and hold at least a .607 True Shooting %.

5). The only player in NBA history to have led the NBA in assists and also in 3-point field goals made.

6). The only player in NBA history to lead the league in scoring 3+ times and assists 2+ times. 

7). The only player in NBA history with 8,000 career free throws made and 3,000 3-pointers made.

8). The only player in NBA history to have led the league in total points, steals, assists, and 3-pointers.

9). Led the league in scoring average for three consecutive seasons. Over the last 45+ years, only Michael Jordan and Kevin Durant have done the same.

10). Averaged at least 29 points for six consecutive seasons. The only other players in NBA history who can say the same are Michael Jordan and Wilt Chamberlain. 

11). Finished in the top-2 in scoring for six consecutive seasons. Only Jordan and Chamberlain can say the same. 

12). 4th most 60-point games in NBA history. 

13). 4th most 50-point games in NBA history.

14). One of only three players in history with a 60-point triple double. 

15). Led the NBA in Win Shares five times. Only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Wilt Chamberlain, and Michael Jordan did it more often. 

16). Led the league in free throw attempts seven times. Only Chamberlain did it more often. 

17). Led the league in 3-point field goals made for three consecutive seasons. Only Steph Curry can say the same.

18). 5th most free throws in NBA history. 

19). 8th most triple-doubles in NBA history.

20). Led the league in points scored four times. Only Michael Jordan, Wilt Chamberlain, and Kevin Durant did it more often. 

21). Averaged 36.1 points per game in 2019. Only Chamberlain and Jordan averaged more in a single season. 

22). Averaged at least 34 points per game in two different seasons. Only Chamberlain and Jordan can say the same. 

23). Led the league in Value Over Replacement Player three times. Only Jordan, LeBron James, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Larry Bird, and Nikola Jokic have done it more often.

Harden’s postseason disappointments will almost always be the headline when discussing his place in history, and that’s fair. He simply doesn’t have the postseason hardware to crack the top-ten on the all-time list. However, Harden is every bit in the conversation as the greatest player never to win an NBA Championship, and his regular season virtuoso performances put him ahead of many superstars who did win a championship. Harden also comes in ahead of the early stars of the NBA who played in the weakest era the league has ever seen. What James Harden accomplished in a fully globalized league is more impressive than anyone who dominated small leagues when racial quotas existed and segregation was still a part of the national discourse. It’s highly likely that the combination of Harden’s empty postseason trophy case along with not being a particularly popular player will keep him from ever receiving his proper due as an all-time great basketball player. Nevertheless, his historical greatness is a matter of record for anyone who cares to look.   

While there is no question that Demetrious Johnson was a phenomenal fighter–his flying armbar finish of Ray Borg is one of the greatest moments in MMA history–there are a few things working against him when it comes to being in the pound-for-pound GOAT conversation. 

1). Johnson fought the majority of his career in the flyweight division which was, by far, the weakest MMA weight class while he was active. The competition was so watered down during Johnson’s run in the UFC that the company planned to eliminate it until the Brandon Moreno-Deiveson Figueiredo quadrilogy saved it. In fact, the UFC valued the division so little that it took the unprecedented step of trading Johnson to another organization.

2). Johnson spent the last four years of his career fighting in ONE where he didn’t face a single fighter with even one fight in the UFC.

3). Johnson never faced Moreno, Figueiredo, Alexandre Pantoja, or Askar Askarov, who were the best flyweights during Johnson’s career aside from Henry Cejudo.

4). Not only did Johnson not face Moreno, Figueiredo, Pantoja, or Askarov, he didn’t beat a single fighter who has a victory over them, which not only underscores how relatively weak Johnson’s fight schedule was, but also how weak the resumes of the fighter’s Johnson defeated were. 

5). Johnson lost to the two biggest names that he fought: Dominick Cruz and Henry Cejudo.

6). Johnson started off as a bantamweight and moved to the easier flyweight division after getting outclassed by Cruz. Had he stayed in the bantamweight division, he would’ve had a number of marquee opponents like Cruz (again), Aljamain Sterling, Merab Dvalishvili, Petr Yan, TJ Dillashaw, Sean O’Malley, and Jose Aldo. Johnson not only missed out on facing the murderer’s row at bantamweight, but having also not faced Moreno, Figueiredo, and Pantoja at flyweight means that he didn’t face the top competition in either division. 

7). As of the September 10, 2024 rankings, Johnson had zero wins over the top 15 ranked UFC flyweights and 0 wins over the top 35 ranked flyweights in ANY company according to Tapology’s flyweight rankings. 

8). Johnson’s knockout loss to Adriano Moraes and draw against Ian McCall are results that very few fighters in the GOAT conversation have, if any.     

Mighty Mouse gets a lot of love–and he deserves a lot of love–but it’s hard to overlook the fact that he lost to the two best opponents he faced, had a schedule absent of many of the best fighters in the world, and fought in the weakest division in MMA. It would be disrespectful to the deeper weight classes to ignore the huge drop-off in the competition level at flyweight. The elite fighters from those divisions faced a gauntlet that Johnson never did. Even still, I have him rated well ahead of Moreno, Figueiredo, and Pantoja, and slightly ahead of Cejudo. It’s not unreasonable to call him the flyweight GOAT, but how would he have fared against the true killers of the flyweight division? We’ll never know. 

Dealing in the realm of opinion precludes us from ever truly knowing the greatest at anything, but Robinson is very likely the greatest two-way center since the NBA/ABA merger. He is what everyone thinks Bill Russell was. Robinson wasn’t just a defensive wall who led the NBA in defensive rating a record five times, but he was also an offensive force who is one of only three centers in the last 45 years to lead the league in scoring. In fact, Robinson’s two-way prowess is so unique that he is the only player in NBA history to have led the league in defensive rating and scoring. His impact on the NBA was swift and stunning. Prior to his rookie season in San Antonio, the Spurs were coming off a dreadful season in which they won just 21 games. With Robinson, that total ballooned to 55 wins the following season. This was the largest year over year improvement over the first 40+ years of the NBA. The team that beat that record? The 1997-1998 San Antonio Spurs, who improved their win total by 36 games when Robinson returned after missing all but six games the prior season due to injury (Note: The Spurs also had the luxury of adding Tim Duncan through the draft, which, come on!).  

Speaking of Duncan, Robinson’s greatness is often overshadowed by The Big Fundamental’s extraordinary career. However, Robinson’s trophy case is impressive in its own right. He won an NBA MVP, finished 2nd twice, and 3rd twice. He won the Defensive Player of the Year, and finished 2nd three times. All this despite missing two years of his prime serving in the Navy and his age-31 season due to injury. Robinson’s two-way dominance, stacked trophy case, and the eye-popping ledger below easily places him among the 20 greatest basketball players in NBA history.

David Robinson’s Resume

1). Only center in the last 50 years to have a season of 20+ Win Shares

2). Only center in the last 50 years to have two seasons of 18+ Win Shares.

3). Only center in the last 50 years to have three seasons of 17.5+ Win Shares

4). Only center in the last 50 years to have four seasons of 17+ Win Shares

5). Only center in the last 50 years to have five seasons of 15+ Win Shares

6). Only center in the last 50 years to have six seasons of 13.5+ Win Shares

7). Only center in the last 50 years to have seven seasons of 13.5+ Win Shares

8). Only center in the last 50 years to have eight seasons of 13+ Win Shares

9). Only center in the last 50 years to have nine seasons of 12.5+ Win Shares

10). Only center in the last 50 years to have 10 seasons of 12+ Win Shares

11). Led the NBA in Defensive Rating a record five times. 

12). Led the NBA Playoffs in Defensive Rating a record five times.

13). Most points by a center in a single game since 1962 (71).

14). 20 point margin between Offense Rating (116) and Defensive Rating (96) is the largest of any player in NBA history with a career ppg average of at least 14 points.

Editor’s note: This is my favorite David Robinson stat.

15). Only player in NBA history to have led the league in Defensive Rating and scoring. 

16). Only player in NBA history to have career averages of 21+ points, 10+ rebounds, 3+ blocks and a .515+ field goal percentage. 

17). Only player in NBA history to lead the NBA in scoring, blocks, rebounds, free throw attempts, free throws made, Win Shares, Value over Replacement Player (VROP), and Player Efficiency Rating. 

18). All-time leader in Defensive Box Plus/Minus

19). 3rd all-time in Win Shares/48 minutes

20). 4th all-time in Defensive Rating

21). 6th all-time in NBA Playoffs Defensive Rating

22). 6th all-time in Player Efficiency Rating (PER) 

23). 6th all-time in Box Plus/Minus

24). 10th all-time in free throws per 100 possessions

25). 12th all-time in Value over Replacement Player (VORP)

26). 16th all-time in Win Shares

27). Only player in NBA history with 170+ Win Shares while playing fewer than 1,000 games.

28). Only player in NBA history with 80+ VORP while playing fewer than 1,000 games.