James Harden added another milestone Monday, this one simply by taking the floor.
The Cavaliers guard made his 1,228th career regular-season appearance against the Thunder, moving past Mike Conley for 44th on the NBA’s all-time games played list.
Fittingly, it came against the franchise where Harden’s NBA career began. He spent his first three seasons with Oklahoma City before becoming a star in Houston, followed by stops with Brooklyn, Philadelphia, the Clippers and now the Cavs. He’s in his 18th season.
Harden’s scoring and passing generally get the attention. But staying in the league this long, while still being asked to help run an offense with championship ambitions, deserves some recognition, too.
The Cavs don’t need the version of Harden who carried the Rockets’ scoring load. They need his ability to organize possessions, find Donovan Mitchell and get Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen involved.
Saturday offered a useful example. Harden finished with 13 points and seven assists in 26 minutes during the win over Milwaukee. He didn’t have to dominate the ball or the box score to help the offense work.
Monday brought another appearance, and another step up a list that rewards sticking around.
I’ll have more on Harden and the rest of the Cavaliers later on in the postgame dribbles.
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