Daily Fantasy Heat Check #6: James Harden
James Harden, for the 4th time in his career, lost in a conference finals series. Can he finally win a title this coming season with the Cavaliers?
The Heat Check series focus on players who are “stat monsters,” producers who are cornerstones of all kinds of fantasy league teams and contests.
2025-2026 SEASON STATS
James Harden
Regular Season Stats
20.5 points per game (46% shooting percentage)
4.8 rebounds per game
7.7 assists per game
James Harden is 37 this year.
It is impressive that he played 70 games last season. He was doing well with the Clippers, and then got traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers. He also did pretty okay in the regular season, until the playoffs happened.
The 8th seed Orlando Magic almost had an upset, and the series had a game 7. In the next round, they played against the Detroit Pistons, and the series also had a game 7. Finally, Jalen Brunson exposed his inability to play defense. Harden also had a lot of turnovers, and had games where he had 7 and 9.
It is unreasonable to expect that James Harden suddenly becomes a defensive stalwart, but his playoff woes make him too much of a liability for a team that has title hopes. At least with the Clippers, he had Kawhi Leonard who can play defense, but in Cleveland, he plays alongside an undersized guard who scores and barely plays defense. Sounds familiar.
So would James Harden get a ring next season? Probably not.
For Daily Fantasy Players: MID! James Harden still averages 20 points per game, and can drop 30+ points on a good day. He can have good fantasy ratings in a lot of contests.
Traditional Fantasy Players: NOT! Lots of better options in the guard spots–scorers like Harden, but can also have defensive stats. He could be a good late pickup though, because he still scores.
