James Harden hasn’t been a member of the Oklahoma City Thunder for three years, but nobody has donned his former No. 13 for the club since. Until now, we just figured nobody had asked for it.
It turns out it’s more complicated. See, Harden’s number isn’t retired. It’s just sort of … not wearable.
Dion Waiters discovered this when he was traded to OKC from the Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday. Waiters’ first two choices for a jersey number, Nos. 1 and 3, were off the table, so he decided to combine the two into lucky No. 13.
Nope, he was told. That number was Harden’s. Try again.
“They didn’t want me to wear 13,” Harden told NewsOK’s Berry Tramel. “Guess they wanted me to have my own identity.”
To this we say: What?
Listen, Harden was a nice player for the Thunder, and he has grown into a Most Valuable Player candidate for the Houston Rockets. The Thunder had to make a hard choice in 2012 between him and Serge Ibaka, and they chose Ibaka, trading Harden to Houston just days before the 2012-13 season opened.
But Harden definitely didn’t do anything retired-number worthy, officially or unofficially, in OKC. He wasn’t even a bit player on a championship team, which apparently is the only criteria for having your digits retired by the Boston Celtics.
Even diehard Thunder fans, at this point, recognize the wisdom of general manager Sam Presti’s decision. At 25 years old, Ibaka has rounded out his game and is the rare impact big man who can actually stay healthy. Like Waiters, potentially, Ibaka is part of the Thunder’s present and future. Harden, as Tramel notes, is part of the past.
Waiters eventually chose No. 23, which once was worn by a pretty good player named Michael Jordan. Maybe the Thunder should go ahead and retire that number, too. Who cares if Jordan never played for their team? That hasn’t stopped the Miami Heat from hanging MJ’s number in the rafters.
Thumbnail photo via Kelley L. Cox/USA TODAY Sports Images
