For people who still get chills (the bad kind) over the Houston Athlete Mass Exodus Era of 2020 and 2021, the news that James Harden and DeAndre Hopkins both want to return has been met with mixed reviews. The reviews for Harden’s return skew largely negative with Houstonians, while a majority of Texan fans would love to see Hopkins in the deep steel blue again.
That is my unscientific assessment, based on four hours a day on the radio and countless additional hours on social media and in bars with sports fans. However, it seems to be firmly established, without any debate, that there is a chance these reunions could both happen. Hell, for Harden, Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer is basically saying it’s a done deal:
“Harden is expected to opt out of his contract and sign with the Houston Rockets in free agency.”
Hopkins, meanwhile, is also rumored to be open to a return:
When they were both players in Houston, I felt like there was a strong cross sport comparison between Harden and Hopkins, and in a couple ways that similarity has been fortified these last few weeks. Let’s look at all of the similarities between the two:
FOUR SIMILARITIES
Playing style
Within their respective ecosystems, I think Hopkins and Harden are both guys who (a) don’t wow you with a super elite physical look, or explosive physical traits. Both count the ability to take advantage of nuances in the rulebook and other glitches in the matrix to pile up their astronomical statistics. Which brings us to the next similarity.
Production
Despite not possessing decathlete type traits, both have been, at their respective apexes, which really were between 2015 and 2020 for both, arguably the best at their positions. Hopkins was a three time first team All Pro and two time second team All Pro between 2015 and 2020. Only Book Osweiler as his QB could shut down Hopkins, in 2016. Likewise, Harden was first team All NBA every season from 2013-2014 through 2019-2020, except in 2015-2016. Harden was MVP of the league in 2017-2018;
Durability, and now maybe the lack thereof
When they were both playing at the peak of their powers, you needed the jaws of life to get Hopkins and Harden out of the lineup. From 2013 through 2020, DeAndre Hopkins played in all but two games, a total of 98.4 percent of the possible games. Similarly, James Harden played in 95.5 percent of possible games. The worm has turned on both guys, though, as they’ve aged. In 2021 and 2022, Hopkins missed 15 of 34 games, either because of injury or a six game PED suspension last season. In the last three seasons, Harden has only played in 70 percent of regular season games.
Houston is home
Like many athletes who are let go by Houston teams, Hopkins and Harden have both not only maintained a home in town, but they’ve made it their offseason home base. Hell, even when he was in Philly in the regular season, Harden would spend off days in Houston from time to time. (Access to private jets is nice.) Bottom line, both guys love it here, and have family here.
Okay, now here is where the road diverges in the woods:
FOUR DIFFERENCES
How they left back in 2021-2021
As I mentioned earlier, the fans of the Texans and Rockets seem to feel very differently about their respective former superstars. Texan fans, at the right price, seem to love the idea of Hopkins coming back, while the majority of Rocket fans say “Hell no!” to a Harden reunion. Why is that? Well, it’s pretty simple. Hopkins was unceremoniously shipped out for pennies on the dollar by Bill O’Brien. Harden showed up out of shape, demanding a trade in early in the 2020-2021 season.
How their former teams feel about them (maybe)
Oddly enough, how their former teams themselves feel about these two players may be the bizarro version of how the fans feel. Reportedly, the Fertitta family still “loves” James Harden, and would welcome him back. As for the Texans, nobody is really sure how they feel about Hopkins in 2023, but we do know that Cal McNair didn’t veto the atrocious trade fo Hopkins back in 2020.
How the fans in Houston feel about them
I probably should have said “spoiler alert” in the first bullet point above under “Four Differences,” because I laid out the fan emotions in that paragraph, but I’ll repeat it again — Texan fans seem to generally like Hopkins a lot, and Rocket fans seem to generally despise him still, despite a very vocal group that would like him back.
How much they each choose to interfere in team business
Finally, another difference is how each handles their business internally, as part of an organization. To be fair, some of this may be reflective of the difference in the culture of the two sports, where basketball is more collaborative with its star players. That said, Harden has typically been very vocal and influential with moves he think should be made, sometimes to the major detriment of the overall product. (What’s up, Russell Westbrook?) Hopkins has largely gone about his business. Hell, he spent an entire season with Brock Osweiler as his QB and didn’t make a peep!
Listen to Sean Pendergast on SportsRadio 610 from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. weekdays. Also, follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/SeanTPendergast, on Instagram at instagram.com/sean.pendergast, and like him on Facebook at facebook.com/SeanTPendergast.
This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2023.
