... the rest of his game isn't spectacular to see. He gets by on an unbelievable understanding of a mastery of the craft of scoring and manipulating every aspect of his individual matchup, including how to draw any foul call.

He's got to be one of the craftier players to ever put on an NBA uniform. He's not an explosive athlete, at least not the way that LeBron, Kobe, Russ, and even Kyrie are. So, he's not awing fans with sheer athletic ability. And why he has that great crossover, he doesn't seem like he has great handles like Kyrie or Steph, so his game is ordinary in many respects, at least relative to how other stars are judged.

But if there was a player who maximized every aspect of the modern game it's Harden.

Like you were saying, it's a minor basketball tragedy that the group of Harden, KD, and Russ only made the one Finals appearance and never won a title. Because that Big 3 would rival the one in Golden State now or a lot of historic teams. Looking back the handful of millions the owner didn't spend on luxury tax fees team broke up a team which had potential to be legendary.