Jazz swingman Thabo Sefolosha says James Harden has ‘always been a hell of a player’ since time with Thunder

Houston Rockets guard James Harden has easily established himself as one of the NBA’s elite players in recent years. It seems Utah Jazz forward Thabo Sefolosha saw it coming ever since their days with the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Prior to becoming an MVP frontrunner, Harden was a sixth man for the Thunder. According to Eric Walden of the Salt Lake Tribune, Sefolosha feels he was always great even during his time in Oklahoma City:

Thabo, on James Harden: “He’s always been a hell of a player, even in OKC with limited time.” pic.twitter.com/IKRZry4WP2

— Eric Walden (@tribjazz) April 16, 2019

Thabo Sefolosha arrived in Oklahoma City during James Harden’s rookie season. It is safe to assume both players had their fair share of battles in practice as players trying to garner larger minutes with the Thunder.

Sefolosha had eventually emerged into a great perimeter player in his own right. However, it was not long before Harden went on a meteoric rise to stardom following the trade to Houston.

Regardless, there is still plenty of truth to Sefolosha’s comments. Harden made the most out of his limited minutes and opportunities during his first few years in OKC. He even managed to win the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year award. Unfortunately, it was only a matter of time before he was ready to take over a team of his own.

Sefolosha is now tasked once again with being the primary defender on Harden in this series. Although his former teammate did manage to score 29 points, it took him 26 shots in order to do so. The Jazz will need to find a way to keep him contained if they hope to make this series competitive.

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