Without any other superstar players on the team, nor a helper averaging over 15 points per game, he led the Houston Rockets to the ninth spot in the Western Conference with an average of 26 points, 5 rebounds, and 7 assists per game.
In terms of statistics, he looked better than Irving, but Irving, as a rookie who also had Reebok spending a lot of resources on promotion, coupled with having Yu Fei as a teammate, and with his own flashy style of play, naturally had much more popularity than Harden.
As another rising star under Reebok, Harden might have had the best stats, but only the local popularity in Houston was enough to make him an All-Star substitute.
That was enough.
Playing the All-Star game at home often gives players more opportunities, and only the foolish would try to steal the show from the host.
As the All-Star weekend approached, so did the trade deadline.
The situation was filled with urgency for the SuperSonics team.
