NBA Legend Says James Harden's Style Never Wins Championships, Compares Him to Tracy McGrady

James Harden has reached the NBA Finals once and the Conference finals three more times, but the truth remains that he doesn't have a Championship. And for Olden Polynice, Tracy McGrady may have something in common with the Guard in light of his MVP over Championship comments.

"James Harden has a regular season MVP and no championship rings. We've talked about that because his style of play does not produce championships," Polynice said on Byron Scott's Fast Break Podcast on September 6.

Harden's regular-season MVP title came during the 2017-18 season when he was with the Houston Rockets. Meanwhile, Tracy McGrady never won a regular season MVP title himself.

"T-Mac was the same way," Polynice continued on the podcast. "His style of play, it was not conducive to winning championships. So, that's the bottom line."

This is particularly interesting considering McGrady's comments recently about how MVP titles hold more value than Championships.

"The MVP of the regular season has more weight than a championship," McGrady proclaimed. "That is the whole team. This is not just team, it's ownership, it's management, it's all of this that plays into winning a championship… MVP? That's you putting in some work."

McGrady's lone NBA Finals appearance came with the San Antonio Spurs in 2013, the year after Harden's Finals debut. Both teams lost to the Miami Heat.

In fact, Polynice isn't the only one to have commented on Harden's lack of Silverware. One of the greatest in the sport, a Lakers Legend famously spoke about James Harden's inability to win a championship as well.

Kobe Bryant's James Harden assessment in 2019

Back in 2019, former Laker Kobe Bryant spoke about what it was about James Harden that kept an NBA Championship away

In an interview with ESPN back in 2019, he spoke about how he held the player in high regard but his style of play was not conducive to winning Championships.

"I'm not a fan of it in terms of winning championships," Bryant said of Harden's ball dominance on ESPN's Jump. "I don't think that style's ever gonna win championships. But at the same time, you have to keep your team's head above water to win games. You have to do what you have to do to win games. And he's doing that."

Back in January 2019, Harden was on a red-hot streak. He was averaging over 40 points for the Houston Rockets.

Still, his best chance to win a Championship came back in 2012 when he reached the NBA finals with Oklahoma City Thunder. Against Miami Heat, they could unfortunately only win once in Game 1 before Miami won the next four games.

Harden never reached an NBA final ever again. The debate around Harden’s legacy clearly isn’t going away. With Polynice echoing an old Kobe Bryant criticism and McGrady defending MVP value, the championship question remains the biggest mark on Harden’s record.