James Harden is making some bold claims about the Rockets, and they have little to do with how he and Russell Westbrook will handle being reunited in the backcourt.
The Beard is now on record as saying Houston will have the best-dressed team in the history of sports. And it may be hard to prove him wrong.
“Don’t forget P. J. Tucker and Tyson Chandler,” Harden told GQ Magazine recently. “We got a nice roster of guys who love to dress and look good. The tunnel is going to be like a real fashion-show runway, so we’re going to have to figure out a way to get some music down there. But everybody is going to look good in their own way, and that’s why it’s so dope.”
As for how things will look once they all get on the court together, Harden was a bit more reserved, if not pragmatic.
Harden and Westbrook haven’t been NBA teammates since 2012. They’ve both grown into MVP-winning superstars with distinct styles and aggressive playmaking skills. It’ll take time to get in sync, but Harden is looking at the big picture here.
“It’s like, yo, we’ll figure it out,” Harden said. “Everything isn’t necessarily going to be smooth at first, there are going to be ups and downs, and that’s part of an 82-game season. Hopefully by the end of the season, we’ve caught a rhythm and everybody is on the same page going into the playoffs. That’s all you can ask for.
“It’s not like me and Russ were just teammates in Oklahoma City for three years. We’ve known each other since we were 10 years old. There’s a different kind of relationship and communication that we have, a different type of excitement that we have for each other. We don’t really care or pay attention to what other people say or think.”
That may be for the best. The noise coming into this season will certainly be deafening in Houston — and that starts with team owner Tilman Fertitta.
"I think we put ourselves in the position that if we don't win it in the next three or four years, we probably aren't going to win one in the next 10 years," Fertitta told Yahoo Sports. "This is our window, and we need to seize the opportunity."
However this season shakes out, Houston can be confident knowing they’ll at least look good when they get on the court. Everything after that remains to be seen.
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Blake Schuster is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at blakeschuster@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
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