James Harden confronts Drew League heckler who called him a flopper
James Harden has become one of the NBA’s most difficult-to-stop scorers in recent years thanks in part to his peerless ability to create contact. The Houston Rockets All-Star has led the NBA in free-throw attempts in three of the past four seasons — in 2013-14, he finished third, generating 9.1 freebies per game — helping keep Houston’s among the most efficient and effective in the league with his steady march to the charity stripe.
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Of course, the shooting guard has also come under fire from some fans for the manner in which he earns those trips to the line. One of those fans, it seems, was sitting front row for Harden’s appearance this weekend at the Drew League, the venerable Los Angeles pro-am run where the former Artesia High School star has become a favorite over the years for his propensity to show up and show out — and after Harden staked his LAUNFD squad to a big early lead with some of his signature downhill running:
.@JHarden13 had a game-high 27 points in 1st half… on only 7 shots!
5/6 threes, 1/2 twos, 10/10 FTs— Drew League (@DrewLeague) August 14, 2016
… the fan decided to let Harden have an earful about what he perceived to be some acting by the bearded one. He, um, definitely got Harden’s attention:
Sorry, James. That dude was not about to buy your story that you actually got hit on any of the plays that led to all those free throws. Then again, you probably knew that from the second he called you Vlade Divac.
While Harden’s face-to-face meeting with his accuser/heckler didn’t result in true resolution of the detractor’s beef, it didn’t seem to derail Harden any, either. He resumed his monster game, already in progress, and finished with an appropriately starry 42 points, six rebounds, four assists and three steals to lead LAUNFD past Salvatori’s Spirit and into a clash next weekend against top-seeded and undefeated BB4L for the chance to play for the Drew League championship:
A performance like that tends to quiet the haters … although, given the persistence and volume of this particular dude, Harden might need to come with even more firepower in his next Drew appearance to hit the mute button. Oh, well. It could always be worse. At least this guy didn’t shine a laser pointer in Harden’s eye.
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Dan Devine is an editor for Ball Don’t Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
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