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James Harden has played exactly 1,000 regular season NBA games

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James Foglio
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James Foglio Sports Editor

James is a Basketball Insiders contributor. He earned his bachelor's degree in English and Creative Writing from Southern New Hampshire University. James enjoys watching sports and helping gamblers win money.

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Updated01 Aug 2023

Philadelphia 76ers James Harden has played exactly 1,000 regular season NBA games

Philadelphia 76ers star James Harden has played exactly 1,000 regular-season games in the NBA over the course of his 14-year career. Harden, 33, was selected third overall by the Oklahoma City Thunder in the 2009 NBA Draft out of Arizona State University.

The 10-time All-Star is also just one of six players (Oscar Robertson, Gary Payton, LeBron James, Russell Westbrook, and Chris Paul) to record at least 20,000 points, 5,000 rebounds, and 7,000 assists through his first 1,000 career games.

According to a few NBA betting sites, the Philadelphia 76ers hold ninth-shortest odds to win next season’s championship in 2024. Check out which sportsbooks are showing better odds for the Boston Celtics, Milwaukee Bucks, and Miami Heat.

James Harden has made 786 career starts in those 1,000 regular-season NBA games. The 6-foot-5 guard has averaged 24.7 points, 5.6 rebounds, 7.0 assists, 1.5 steals, and 34.8 minutes per game. More importantly, the Philly star has tallied 24,693 points, 5,648 boards, 7,015 assists, and 1,520 steals.

However, Harden’s time with the City of Brotherly Love has probably come to an end. The seven-time All-NBA member is expected to get traded ahead of the 2023-24 season. Harden’s been vocal about playing for the Los Angeles Clippers.

In July, the guard removed the Sixers from his Instagram and Twitter biographies. Can NBA fans expect to see Harden traded anytime soon? With Philadelphia’s training camp a few months away, anything can happen at this point. Portland Trail Blazers superstar Damian Lillard has yet to get traded as well.

Philadelphia 76ers guard James Harden is one of six players (Oscar Robertson, Gary Payton, LeBron James, Russell Westbrook, and Chris Paul) to record at least 20K points, 5K rebounds, and 7K assists through 1,000 career NBA games

“[Sixers president of basketball operations Daryl] Morey is known to be asking for the kind of return that — as of Tuesday afternoon — left the strong impression that he had no genuine interest in getting a deal done anytime soon. Harden’s stance has not changed,” The Athletic’s Sam Amick wrote last month.

Additionally, Harden exercised his $35.64 million player option for the 2023-24 season with the 76ers in June. His player option is part of the two-year, $68.64 million contract he signed with the team last July.

Harden signed his two-year deal last offseason after declining a $47.4 million player option for the 2022-23 season. His previous option was included in the four-year, $171 million extension he signed with the Houston Rockets in July 2017.


In 58 starts of the 2022-23 season, Harden averaged 21 points, 6.1 rebounds, 10.7 assists, 1.2 steals, and 36.8 minutes per game. The Arizona State product shot 44.1% from the floor and 38.5% outside the arc, his highest 3-point shooting percentage since 2011-12 with the Oklahoma City Thunder (39%).

In Philadelphia’s 119-114 win over the Clippers on Dec. 23, Harden recorded a triple-double. The three-time scoring champ tallied 20 points, 11 boards, a career-high 21 assists, and one steal in 42 minutes as a starter.

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