In the first episode of “Inside The NBA” since James Harden was negotiated with the Brooklyn Nets, the team naturally discussed one of the biggest news in the league since the last season ended in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
As one might expect when understanding the dynamics of the hosts, Shaquille O’Neal and Charles Barkley were not exactly compliments to Harden.
The first was Shaq, who used an anecdote about his own life to explain why he knows what he is talking about. He contested Harden’s claim that the bearded guard “gave his all” to the city of Houston, citing all the times that Harden failed in the postseason with a team he asked management to assemble.
Shaq finally ended his diatribe by saying that many in Houston were, in fact, happy that the 2018 MVP was no longer with the team.
Barkley was a little less direct with his comment, starting with a compliment to Kevin Durant. He said that Harden, along with Kyrie Irving, never showed any evidence that he “just wants to win” and is concerned only with his individual numbers. Barkley then speculated that Brooklyn made this switch in anticipation that they would not be able to count on Irving for the rest of the season.
The 1993 MVP ended with the most memorable line of the night, making a joke about how Durant went from a team full of pitchers to just dribblers.