Michael Jordan: Rockets GM Says James Harden Better Scorer Than NBA Legend

2018 MVP James Harden is arguably one of the greatest scorers the NBA has ever seen. The Houston Rockets point guard averaged over 40 points per game during a 32 game stretch in the 2018-19 season and the team’s general manager Daryl Morey believes Harden is a greater scorer than the legendary Michael Jordan, who is widely considered the greatest ever to play the game.

Jordan led the Chicago Bulls to six NBA titles during his time with the team while Harden is yet to claim his first Larry O’Brien trophy with the Rockets. But Morey is certain that Harden has the ability to generate more points than Jordan did during his time with the Bulls.

“It’s just factual that James Harden is a better scorer than Michael Jordan,” Morey told Matthew Haag on "Selfmade with Nadeshot", as quoted on Rockets Wire USA Today. “You give James Harden the ball, and before you’re giving up the ball, how many points you generate, which is how you should measure offense… James Harden is by far number one in NBA history.”

“And he was number one even at the Oklahoma City Thunder,” Morey noted of Harden talking about his time with his previous employers. “But he was coming off the bench, it was a little more hidden.”

Morey is aware that there will be a counter argument to his point about Harden being the greatest scorer in NBA history and accepts that it is difficult to compare the two eras. But he remains firm about his statement regarding Harden and believes it is a fact if one considers the numbers the Rockets guard puts up every season.

“The counter argument is reasonable,” Morey said. “They say if you put Michael Jordan on a team now, he would do more than James Harden. That’s possible. But if you’re just saying… NBA history, if you give this guy the ball, ‘How much does his team score after you give him the ball before the other team gets the ball?’, it’s James Harden. And I know that makes people mad, but it’s literally a fact.”

The 29-year-old guard has been the leader of the Rockets team in the past few seasons but they are yet to make the NBA Finals despite boasting one of the best scorers in the league. In the last couple of seasons, they have fallen to eventual finalists Golden State Warriors but Morey is hopeful that the addition of Russell Westbrook from Oklahoma City Thunder will help them take the next step and make the NBA Finals in 2020.

"We have two recent MVPs, that's happened only four times in NBA history where two MVPs are on the same team in a 3-year span. Every time that team has gone on to win the title. We'll see. We'll see if it works out for us."