Khloe Kardashian claimed last year that she broke up with James Harden because he was unfaithful, but the Houston Rockets star remembers the relationship ending on much different terms.
In a wide-ranging feature from Lee Jenkins of Sports Illustrated, Harden opened up about dating a member of the Kardashian clan. Simply put, he doesn’t think it’s a coincidence that he is having one of the best seasons of his career now that Khloe is out of his life.
“I’m not worried about anything but hooping, and that may be why I’m having this kind of success,” Harden said. “I didn’t like all the attention. I feel like it was for no reason. I wasn’t getting anything out of it except my name out there and my face out there, and I don’t need that.
“It wasn’t uncomfortable, but it wasn’t me. I don’t need pictures of myself when I’m driving my car. Who cares? What shoes am I wearing? Who cares? Where am I eating? Who cares? It was unnecessary stuff that I think trickled down to my teammates. I had to eliminate that.”
Harden has moved to point guard under Mike D’Antoni, and it is suiting him well. In addition to averaging 28.8 points, he is also leading the NBA with 11.3 assists per game. His previous career high was 7.5 assists last season, so Harden has added a new element to his game. His 8.1 rebounds per game are also by far a career high. If he says no longer being chased by the paparazzi has contributed to that success, who are we to question it?
“I think he wanted to take his fame out for a spin, and I think he decided he liked it better in the garage,” a Rockets source told Jenkins.
Kardashian is now engaged to Cleveland Cavaliers forward Tristan Thompson. Interestingly enough, Harden says he is happy to be out of the Hollywood spotlight but is said to be dating a famous R&B singer. Even if that is the case, it doesn’t seem to be affecting his game. Call it another example of the Kardashian curse.
