Late Sunday night, James Harden and the Los Angeles Clippers hosted Nikola Jokic and the 2023 NBA champion Denver Nuggets at their new arena, the Intuit Dome.
Prior to the game, the Clippers, who have been without star Kawhi Leonard all season due to injury, had played better than anticipated following the departure of Paul George. With Harden leading the charge, Los Angeles has secured a 12-9 record, including wins in six of its last eight contests.
Coming into the game, Harden, the 2018 NBA MVP, had hit 2,998 three-pointers in his 16-year career, good for the second-most in league history behind Golden State Warriors guard Steph Curry. At the 2:29 mark of the second quarter against the Nuggets, Harden hit his second three of the game, becoming just the second player in league history to hit 3,000 for a career.
The NBA made an official announcement on X, congratulating the former Arizona State star for his latest accomplishment.
"Congrats to James Harden of the Los Angeles Clippers for becoming the 2nd player in NBA history to make 3,000 threes!"
NBA fans were impressed by Harden's latest feat, taking to social media to leave their congratulatory comments as well.
"Huge congrats to James Harden! Becoming just the 2nd player in NBA history to hit 3,000 threes is an incredible achievement," one fan said. "The Beard keeps making history!"
"Congratulations James Harden!" added another.
Other users felt the need to make sure people still knew that Curry is the best three-point shooter of all-time.
"Both came in the game in 2009 and dropped over 3K triples is kinda crazy then Steph being 800+ ahead of him is even crazier," one user wrote.
"If Steph retired today i can bet James Harden would not surpass him as he doesn't have 800 threes left in him," commented a second.
Harden, in his 35-year-old season, is still playing at a high level. Through 21 games, the former Houston Rockets guard is averaging 21.5 points, 7.1 rebounds and 8.8 assists, a near triple-double for "The Beard."
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