Getty Portland's Damian Lillard is defended by Brooklyn's James Harden during the second half in the 70th NBA All-Star Game at State Farm Arena on March 07, 2021 in Atlanta, Georgia.
James Harden continues to build a case for MVP as he leads the surging Brooklyn Nets, who have aspirations of a championship run later this year.
So it’s no surprise to see Harden commanding heaps of respect around the league. One NBA superstar on the West Coast just showed it to him again.
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Lillard Pays Some Serious Respect to Harden
Ahead of Portland’s game against the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday, Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard was photographed rocking a pair of Harden Vol. 5’s, the fifth installment in Harden’s signature sneaker line with adidas that was released in January.
“There was no formal ask for him to wear these, so (Harden) must just like em,” noted NBA agent and marketer Nate Jones, who posted a photo of Lillard wearing the sneakers on Twitter.
Indeed, it appears that’s exactly the case.
“James s***,” Lillard tweeted above the photo of him wearing the Harden Vol. 5’s, accompanying that two-word message with a fire emoji and a raised fist emoji.
James shit 🔥✊🏽
A few hours later, Harden seemed to get wind of Lillard’s tweet and sneaker choice. He tagged Lillard in a tweet in which he wrote “real one.”
real one ☝🏾 @Dame_Lillard
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Lillard Hyping up Nets Players
Lillard’s message to Harden on Monday marked the second time in about the last two weeks that the Trail Blazers All-Star gave a shout-out to a Brooklyn player.
After Kyrie Irving went off for 40 points (on 15-of-23 shooting), eight rebounds and three assists in Brooklyn’s 121-109 win over the Boston Celtics on March 11, @ballislife posted about it on Instagram. Damian Lillard then posted a comment in response.
“Most beautiful game in history,” Lillard wrote.
That’s some awfully high praise from the six-time All-Star who is one of the game’s best shooters and playmakers in his own right.
Nets Will Be Leaning on Harden Even More Now
News broke on Monday that the Nets will be without Irving for the next three games as he tends to a personal matter, the team announced. And with Kevin Durant still sidelined due to a lingering left hamstring strain, even more responsibility falls on Harden’s shoulders.
So far, he’s been more than up to the task.
Since joining the Nets on January 14 after being traded from the Houston Rockets, Harden is averaging 25.4 points, 8.8 rebounds and a league-leading 11.3 assists. Brooklyn is 22-7 over that span.
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