James Harden cements status as Stephen Curry's greatest Western Conference rival
LA Clippers guard James Harden surpassed Hall of Fame shooting guard Ray Allen for the second-most made threes in NBA history during Sunday's win against the Utah Jazz. Now, Harden has the pleasure of hosting No. 1 on the list, Stephen Curry, in the latter half of a back-to-back.
With Harden and Curry playing each other immediately after Harden became No. 2, it raises the question: Was Harden Curry's greatest Western Conference rival?
Since 2014, the Golden State Warriors have been the team of the West, winning four championships in six Finals appearances. Golden State went through stars like Harden, Dwight Howard, Chris Paul, Blake Griffin, Damian Lillard, Anthony Davis, DeMarcus Cousins, Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook in that tenure as they forged a dynasty and kept many a star without a championship.
Lillard's Trail Blazers never really stood a chance against the Warriors or even put up much of a fight, for that matter. In the Pacific Division, Paul and Griffin's Clippers were the Warriors' most heated rival in the early phases of the dynasty. However, Golden State's success blew up that team and sent Paul to the Houston Rockets — the team Golden State beat in the 2015 Western Conference Finals en route to Curry's first ring — with Harden after Harden and Howard didn't work out.
Durant and Westbrook's Oklahoma City Thunder had some classic games against the Warriors and seemed like the team that could compete with the Warriors. However, OKC blew a 3-1 lead in the 2016 WCF, and Durant joined the Warriors the very next season.
While the Davis-Cousins New Orleans Pelicans gave the Warriors issues in one playoff series, the Paul-Harden Rockets actually scared them. To this day, many people believe Houston would've dethroned Golden State if Paul hadn't gotten hurt in the 2018 WCF.
Not only was Harden the only one to play Curry twice in the WCF, but he managed to take Curry to seven games — and Paul was along for the second part of the ride. When it's all said and done, the conversation for Curry's greatest rival comes down to those two, and Harden has a slight advantage.
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