Former James Harden teammate makes ridiculous assertion

One of the reasons why there will always be eyes on the LA Clippers is their location. As a Los Angeles-based team, they are situated in one of the biggest sports markets in the United States. They may be less popular than the Lakers, but being in the prime location of Southern California will always give the Clippers relevance.

Another reason for the Clippers' constant presence in national NBA conversations is that they still have two future Hall-of-Fame players. Both Kawhi Leonard and James Harden are shoo-ins for being inducted into Springfield after their retirement, and so obviously plenty of people outside of just the Clippers fanbase care about following the latter parts of their respective careers.

Harden specifically has frequently been the subject of hot takes during all-time NBA discussions. One of his former teammates, Danuel House, recently appeared on the Ur.Perspectives podcast and revealed his personal top-five players of all-time list. Shockingly, James Harden was on the list.

"[Michael] Jordan, Kobe [Bryant], LeBron [James], James Harden ... and then the fifth guy for me would be KD," said House. He explained that seeing these players in person helped influence his list. "I played against LeBron, and then I watched Kobe because I was in a suit jacket."

Danuel House: Harden is a top 5 player ever

Of course, it is House's right to put these players here because it is his personal top-five list. But we also have the right to say he is a bit off with his view of things. James Harden, at his peak, was of course one of the greatest scorers of a generation. But putting him among the top five players to *ever* play this game is a big, big statement.

I generally think people do not understand how exclusive a club the top five or even top 10 is when discussing the history of the NBA. Some tend to talk about these things as if the league is only about 30 or 40 years old, when there is much more history to break down than just the recent years.

If we are being realistic, James Harden does not sniff the top five, top 10 or top 25 players in the history of the NBA. Clippers fans can appreciate what he is doing in LA, but looking at a big picture perspective of his career resume is important.

Harden has repeatedly come up short when it mattered most. There is some context as to why that is the case, but his shortcomings should not double as an excuse to over-rank him. We can appreciate all that James has achieved in his career while keeping him far away from top-five all-time talks.