Detroit Pistons coach JB Bickerstaff raised some eyebrows with a remark he made about James Harden’s foul-baiting.
Bickerstaff was an assistant coach for the Rockets from 2011 to 2015 and worked with Harden, and divulged Friday that the Cleveland Cavaliers guard actually practices his foul-baiting. Bickerstaff said Harden would even bait him into fouls when practicing one-on-one.
“He’s got an unbelievable ability to manipulate what the rules are,” Bickerstaff said. “We were together four years in Houston and he and I would play one-on-one, and he would foul-bait me. He would practice those things and he would work on them, even just playing one-on-one versus me. He has a great understanding of the rules and how to manipulate them in his favor.”
J.B. Bickerstaff on James Harden: "He has an unbelievable ability to manipulate what the rules are. We would play 1 on 1 when I coached in Houston and he would foul bait me."
— MrBuckBuck (@MrBuckBuckNBA) May 16, 2026
This is freaking hilarious.
Well, he is 'The System' after all.
Via:https://t.co/cBYkUzqsKH pic.twitter.com/JG5cOxfJzS
To be clear, Bickerstaff meant that as praise. He understands better than most what Harden tries to do and accepts that some of his players will inevitably fall victim to it.
Harden has long had a reputation for being one of the best in the league at drawing fouls. Whether that is a skill to be praised and rewarded is a different question, but he has used it to great effect throughout his career. It probably shouldn’t come as a surprise that it is an actual skill that he practices along with everything else.
There are still times Harden’s flopping doesn’t work or has unintended consequences. Don’t expect it to change his ways as long as it still works, though.
