James Harden Named the Best NBA Starting Five of His Ex-Teammates

James Harden is one of the most gifted scorers in NBA history and has been among some very talented teams during the course of his career. The shooting guard was drafted into the association by the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2009 and was in the NBA finals within three years.

After his side fell short to the Miami Heat in the finals, he moved on to the Houston Rockets where he transformed into an all-time great. He spent eight years in Texas, before he had enough and demanded a trade in 2021 and he ended up at the Brooklyn Nets. From there, he moved on to the Philadelphia 76ers and these days, he’s a member of the Los Angeles Clippers squad.

Harden has never managed to get his hands on an NBA championship, but that doesn’t mean he hasn’t played with some exceptional basketball players and recently, he was asked to name the best starting five comprised of his former teammates.

Point Guard – Kyrie Irving

Starting at point guard, Harden picked Kyrie Irving. The 33-year-old is no stranger to controversy, but there’s no denying how great he has been during his career. Described as the most gifted NBA player that LeBron James has ever seen, Irving spent just one year playing alongside Harden at the Brooklyn Nets, but that was more than enough time to leave a lasting impact on the Beard.

Like Harden, Kyrie is no stranger to moving around a number of different teams, but he’s been fantastic wherever he’s gone and few players in the history of the sport have had his dribbling ability.

Shooting Guard – Russell Westbrook

At shooting guard, Harden picked a natural point guard in Russell Westbrook. It’s a testament to how talented he is that the Clippers star picked him out of position just to make sure he could include him. The two men played together at the start of their careers, with Westbrook drafted by the Thunder just one year before Harden.

They spent three years together before the latter left. Westbrook, though, remained loyal to OKC for 11 years and became one of the only players in NBA history to average a triple-double throughout an entire season. The duo ultimately reunited for a season at the Clippers, but Russ left for the Denver Nuggets shortly after.

Small Forward – James Harden

Harden isn’t a small forward, but he clearly wanted to find room for himself in his team. The task was to only pick players from those he USED to play with, not including his current teammates. If that was the case, it’s almost certain that he’d have chosen to include Kawhi Leonard.

Instead, he picked himself and who are we to judge? He’s been an elite scorer throughout the majority of his career and has also shown that he can be an exceptional playmaker when he wants to be. Harden can score from deep, but was also a menace driving to the basket and somehow mastered the art of being fouled and getting to the free-throw line. It left a sour taste in the mouths of many fans, but there’s no denying how effective it was. He’s considered one of the best shooting guards ever for a reason.

Power Forward – Kevin Durant

Another player that Harden started his career with, but also reunited with down the line is Kevin Durant. The small forward has been selected at power forward, but considering his lofty frame, there’s no doubt that KD would do a fine job there. He teamed with Harden at the Thunder and they again teamed up in Brooklyn nearly a decade later.

Durant is a unicorn in every sense of the word and is unlike anyone else in NBA history. He’s a pure scorer and is a nightmare for opposition defenders. Heading into the 2025/26 season, the 36-year-old is preparing to make his debut for one of Harden’s former teams, the Rockets.

Centre – Joel Embiid

While Harden’s time at the Philadelphia 76ers can only really be described as a major disaster, there were clearly some positives, such as playing with Joel Embiid who he named as the best centre he ever played alongside. The shooting guard joined the Sixers in early 2022 and by November 2023, he was on his way out.

That time was enough to establish Embiid as the best big man he teamed up with, though. The centre has been a focal point to everything the Sixers has done over the last decade. Injuries have slowed him down recently, but when he’s healthy, there aren’t many centres in the league capable of keeping him quiet. He’s still considered by fans to be one of the best players in the world right now and he’s considered by Harden to be the best centre he ever played with.