James Harden has been a pleasant surprise in multiple ways since joining the Cleveland Cavaliers.
James Harden has built a reputation for himself over his 16-year NBA career, for better or for worse. Whenever someone thinks of “The Beard,” what they likely picture is the signature step-back three-pointer, and all the other scoring that goes along with it.
There’s no question that Harden is one of the top scorers in NBA history, and he remains one of the game's best scorers.
While Kenny Atkinson knew that was part of the player the Cleveland Cavaliers were getting when they traded for Harden, the head coach was also surprised by a few parts of his game, too, and that starts with Harden’s playmaking.
“The passing is better than I thought,” said the Cavaliers head coach.
Harden’s playmaking ability, including his passing, has truly been a standout since arriving in Cleveland. Whether it’s near full-court lobs to his big men or no-look behind-the-back dishes to the open three-point shooter, Harden has made it clear he’s much more than a scorer.
That said, Harden can still get to the bucket and can score at will, which is part of the other trait that Atkinson has been so impressed by.
Apr 8, 2026; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard James Harden (1) stands on the court in the first quarter against the Atlanta Hawks at Rocket Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-Imagn ImagesCleveland’s coach thought that with how many points Harden is able to score in a game, the guard would have a tendency to take some bad shot attempts that were outside of the offense, but that couldn’t be further from the truth.
“His shot selection is the other thing that surprised me,” explained Atkinson. “Pretty much impeccable… I said this to someone the other day, however many minutes he’s played with us, I think one time I said, ‘That wasn’t a good shot.’ His shot selection - You think a guy is a top-10 scorer, and most top-10 scorers, they take bad shots. Like, he doesn’t take bad shots. Rarely. And that’s extremely rare.”
Atkinson admitted he expected he would have to live with Harden taking some bad, or in some cases “terrible,” shots from time to time, but that just hasn’t been the case during his Cavaliers tenure.
There are a lot of people (including myself) who were skeptical of how Harden would fit with the Cavaliers, but given how well he creates opportunities for others with his passing and knows when to take the right shot, he has fit in surprisingly well.
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