James Harden was plagued by a hamstring injury for much of his inaugural season with the Brooklyn Nets. He thinks the league may not be so lucky next year though.
The former NBA MVP spoke this week with SI’s Michael Shapiro. During the interview, Harden had a bold claim about his team for the 2021-22 season.
“At full strength, nobody can beat us,” said Harden. “I’m just going to leave it at that.”
Harden arrived in Brooklyn midway through last season and was excellent during regular season play. He especially shone as a playmaker for the team, averaging a near career-high 10.8 assists per game. But the hamstring issue affected Harden well into the playoffs and his production tailed off as the Nets lost in the second round.
Brooklyn was also without fellow co-star Kyrie Irving for much of Round 2 due to ankle injury but still took the eventual champion Milwaukee Bucks to seven games. Toss in the additions of Patty Mills, James Johnson, Jevon Carter, and DeAndre Bembry this offseason to fortify the Nets’ bench, and you can see why Harden is so confident just like one of his other teammates.
