James Harden has been infamous in the league for his foul drawing tactics that help stack up the stat board. Ever since the league has limited ‘non-basketball moves’ they have granted the referees some special powers. These powers allow the referees the discretion to decide whether players initiate contact using a move they wouldn’t do in the normal course of the game.

The Houston Rockets fans, for most of his career, enjoyed this eerie ability to draw fouls. However, the NBA community saw it as an unfair means of reaching the free-throw line. And while the league has now changed the rules to subdue this problem, let’s take a look at how Harden exploited and abused the rules of the NBA.

Some bizarre James Harden statistics

In the 2000-2001 season, the total number of three-point shooting fouls in the league was 196. Last season, the total number of three-point shooting fouls in the league was 1091. In his entire career, James Harden has drawn 521 three-point fouls. And except the last year, where he was injured for most of the season, he led the league in three-point fouls drawn in the past five seasons before that.

He drew almost as many three-point fouls in one season with the Houston Rockets as Kobe Bryant did in his entire career. In the five consecutive seasons where he led the league in three-point fouls drawn, he had 407 three-point shooting fouls. He scored 1181 points because of those. Which account for almost a whopping 10% of his points in those seasons.

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Last season, after his trade to the Nets, he could not draw as many fouls beyond the three-point line because he was injured. However, with the new rule, will Harden be able to put up these numbers again?

What does this mean for the Brooklyn Nets?

James Harden’s foul drawing numbers at the three-point are mainly because of his signature step-back move. While the move is not illegal, the changed defending rules, in the absence of detailed rules of offense gave Harden a lot of scope to abuse the rules of the NBA. Not a lot of Harden’s foul drawing came from contact initiated from a non-basketball move while using this move.

So, if Harden is consistent in this move next season, what’s to stop him from repeating these exceptional numbers?

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