James Harden Reinforces Former Thunder Trio's Potential to Win Championships

Although it's been more than a decade since James Harden suited up for the Oklahoma City Thunder, the what-ifs still resonate with the NBA world.

June 4, 2012; San Antonio, TX, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guards James Harden (13) and Russell Westbrook (center) and forward Kevin Durant (35) react against the San Antonio Spurs during the second half in game five of the Western Conference finals of the 2012 NBA playoffs at the AT&T Center. Oklahoma City beat San Antonio 108-106. Mandatory Credit: Brendan Maloney-Imagn Images / Brendan Maloney-Imagn Images

Russell Westbrook, James Harden and Kevin Durant. All at a young stage of eventual Hall of Fame careers, entering a 2012 NBA Finals matchup against the Lebron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh-led Miami Heat.

That trio bound to dominate the Western Conference for several years is one of the biggest what-if scenarios in NBA history.

Even though it's been over a decade since Harden stepped foot on the court as an Oklahoma City Thunder — Durant and Westbrook subsequently left after — the potential championships that the franchise could've won still linger on.

Each of the three is considered one of the greatest players not just in the last decade but of all time. Since they were broken up so early on in their careers, they were never able to develop properly together, even if they made a finals run.

Harden was the first to go because of a contract dispute. Oklahoma City has far outbid by the Houston Rockets, offering $25 million more and an additional year on the deal. It knew the guard was a high-level talent, but couldn't commit to the asking price.

A few years later, Harden won the MVP award — the same feat both Durant and Westbrook accomplished.

On the Earn Your Leisure podcast, Harden spoke out about the financial reasons that caused him to part from the Thunder, as well as what could've been.

“If the Thunder would’ve stayed together instead of being broken up over $4M, we would’ve won two chips at least," Harden said.

Durant and Westbrook were unable to bring Oklahoma City a championship as a duo, although they came close in 2016. It ultimately fell to the Golden State Warriors in the Western Conference Finals after blowing a 3-1 lead.

Would Harden have changed that result? It's tough to say. He was largely used in a sixth man role during his time with the Thunder, and it's unlikely that he'd be putting up close to the MVP numbers that he did with the Rockets. Maybe he would've started by then, but he'd still need to the share the ball with two ball-dominant scorers.

It'll merely remain a hypothetical forever, even if it seems fruitful. Harden could've worked out in Oklahoma City, but it also could've went south regardless of the extension.

The Thunder are long past not only Harden, but his two other former co-stars. It may still be in the back of the franchise's mind, but it's surely comfortable with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren at the helm.

Sometimes, things just don't work out the way one might've hoped.

---

Want to join the discussion? Like Thunder on SI on Facebook and follow us on Twitter to stay up to date on all the latest Thunder news. You can also meet the team behind the coverage.