James Harden’s Brooklyn Nets beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 120-96 on the road on Sunday night, and the treatment the Nets guard received from the opposing fans left him confused.
Harden received a mix of boos and cheers from Thunder fans during player introductions:
Crowd was active for #Nets pregame intros. Booed Durant and Harden. #Thunder #OKC pic.twitter.com/OLCHepVBYo
— Cliff Brunt (@CliffBruntAP) November 15, 2021
Receiving any boos at all was confusing for Harden. Harden was drafted by the Thunder in 2009 and played three seasons for them before they traded him to Houston, where he became an MVP winner.
Harden wasn’t traded because of anything he did wrong. He just became too good and Oklahoma City’s front office decided they couldn’t afford to keep him, Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and Serge Ibaka, so they traded Harden.
Like Harden said after the game, it’s not his fault OKC decided to trade him.
James Harden on if he’s surprised he still gets booed in OKC, almost a decade after the #Thunder traded him to the #Rockets: “I don’t know why. It wasn’t my fault.” #nets #nba
— Brian Lewis (@NYPost_Lewis) November 15, 2021
There are any number of reasons why Harden was booed. Some is probably owed to him being the top player on a good opponent (“they don’t boo nobodies!”). Some of it is probably due to bitterness some Thunder fans may have over the trade, and booing is their only way to express it. And maybe some fans foolishly don’t realize Harden was not the one who pushed for the trade.
But it doesn’t make a lot of sense to boo the guy, unless you just boo all top opponents to give your team a home-court advantage.
Photo: Feb 16, 2021; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Brooklyn Nets guard James Harden (13) reacts against the Phoenix Suns at Phoenix Suns Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
