James Harden was detained by French police in Paris on Thursday but was not arrested in the end. According to the French newspaper “The Parisian”, the incident occurred when the police stopped a car because of the smell of marijuana. Rapper Lil Baby’s real name is Dominique Jones, and he is also in the car. Harden, who is attending fashion week in Paris, apparently talked with friends nearby and came to intervene. Harden was finally able to leave after being briefly detained, but Baby Lil was detained by the police on suspicion of transporting illegal drugs. A video of the incident appeared on the Internet, and Harden said “I don’t understand.”
Harden was supposed to train for the upcoming Olympic Games in Las Vegas as a member of the US team this week. However, when his Brooklyn Nets lost to the Milwaukee Bucks, he retired after suffering a level 2 hamstring strain in the second round of the playoffs. Harden overcame injuries in the last three games of the series, but did not perform well statistically and did not have his typical explosive power.
The Nets eventually lost to the Bucks in seven games, Harden limped and Kyrie Irving sprained ankle. Marijuana is illegal in France, and there are reports that 20 grams of cannabis were found in a car. According to ESPN, the prosecutor stated that in addition to Lil Baby, another person was detained, but the identity of that person was not disclosed. According to reports, the investigation is ongoing.
Harden Joins the Nets
On January 14, 2021, Harden was traded to the Brooklyn Nets in the form of a four-team deal, including the Cleveland Cavaliers and Indiana Pacers, with Rodions Kurucs, Dante Exum, Vic Do Oladipo, four first-round picks, and four first-round picks.
On January 16, he scored 32 points, 12 rebounds, and 14 assists in the 122-115 victory over the Orlando Magic. He became the first player in team history and the seventh in NBA history to make his debut. A player who won a triple-double. team. Harden also set the record for the first player in NBA history to score a 30-point triple-double, as well as the record for the team with the most assists in the first game for a Nets player. On February 2, Harden won his first Eastern Conference Player of the Week with an average double-double of 25.3 points and 11.3 assists in three games.
On February 19, Harden scored a double-double of 23 points and 11 assists in the 108-98 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers, becoming the first player in team history to have 11 consecutive double-doubles. On February 22, Harden was named the Eastern Conference Player of the Week after leading the Nets to four consecutive victories. He averaged 31.8 points, 9.0 rebounds, 10.8 assists, and 1.3 steals per game. The next day, Harden was appointed as the Eastern Substitute for the 2021 NBA All-Star Game. This is his ninth consecutive All-Star selection.
