James Harden, on the NBA’s top-10 all-time scoring list? After pondering that for a moment the other day, his response was the same as what his body language tells defenders while breaking their ankles with a crossover:

“Get outta here.”

You see, Harden wasn’t supposed to keep company with Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant and LeBron James and other scoring greats who got buckets by the bucketful. Because:

He came off the bench his first three seasons.

He spent his entire NBA career on the ground, not in the air.

And his body, according to the armchair fitness experts, wasn’t designed to hold up this long — now 17 seasons and counting — and longevity is a prerequisite for membership on any all-time list.

But here he is, after nudging his way among the 10 and officially certifying his ti

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