James Harden Among Top 5 for Contested 3s in 2023-24

James Harden, arguably the most outstanding offensive player in modern-day history, has almost always showcased his ability to make difficult perimeter shots. Preparedness towards some fluctuations in performance during the last couple of seasons, one must agree that making hard 3-pointers has never been a problem for Harden.

Over the years, "The Beard" has been used to describe Harden due to his exceptional impact scoring, particularly in clutch moments. Such a skill set has not only been a significant constituent of his gameplay style. Still, it has further solidified his status as one of the most excellent touches for any scorer in the game's history.

Although the broader stat line may show regression, his specific one and most extreme ability to make 3 point shots with other people's hands so close is a positive. During the 2023-24 NBA season, Harden converted 34.6% of the 3-point field goal attempts when his defender was within 2-4 feet from his comfortable distance toward the basket during a shooting contest.

This illustration brought him fifth position amongst the rest of the NBA players, betting under similar conditions on obstacle contested shots when synced with this display. While this is not likely to represent a best-case scenario, it day but does partially illustrate his ability to score in the face of opposition.

Harden's Shooting Mastery

Some great performances in shooting highlight Harden's feats in the NBA. A perennial All-Star, he is known for great volume shooting and revolutionizing the game. He can be scored from out with decent success for 15 years if he is a scorer.

The most surprising thing is that as Harden tires off, he maintains accuracy in shooting 3s, his best this season being 39% during the 2011-12 season when he was coming off the bench for the Oklahoma City Thunder. From the beginning of his journey, he has been relying on some isolated plays and step-back jumpers to take shots.

As the years went by, Harden almost always incorporated isolation plays enhanced with a step-back to get some shots off. This is almost the opposite of the other great shooters, such as Stephen, Klay, Reggie, and Ray, who are great at both catching and shooting and shooting off the dribble.

Also, the list of gamers good at shooting with one or two defenders hovering over them at the Hartford pavilion contains other remarkable names. Kyrie Irving tops the leaderboard with as high as 48 % efficiency from contested shots with Paul George and Luka Doncic, who are also quite good at it.