Throughout his 14-season run in the NBA so far, James Harden has emerged as one of the best ever to play the game. He’s a one-time Sixth Man of the Year, three-time scoring champion, and one-time NBA MVP.

However, while his accomplishments and accolades speak a lot about his talent on the court, his relationships with the teams he has played for are another matter. He has already starred for four different teams, and it could be five soon after his latest trade demand from the Philadelphia 76ers that has since turned ugly.

With that said, we take a look below at all the times Harden has demanded a trade in his career.

All statistics courtesy of Basketball Reference and all contract information courtesy of Spotrac unless stated otherwise.

4 Oklahoma City Thunder’s low-ball offer

After the first three years of his career spent with the Oklahoma City Thunder and a trip to the NBA Finals, Harden felt he deserved a more substantial contract from the Thunder, per Yahoo Sports. Instead of those things, Sam Presti offered a four-year, $52 million deal that would have retained the Beard’s services to go along with Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook at that time.

As it stood back then, Harden didn’t like the terms of Presti’s offer. The All-Star guard thought he brought more to the table for OKC than what the front office believed, especially since he was confident that he could command the max contract in the open market. The Beard’s camp used Serge Ibaka’s four-year, $48 million deal as a basis for the money he could demand.

This gave Harden a good argument to request at least $60 million instead of the amount Presti offered. OKC’s general manager stood his ground, causing the All-Star to push for a trade out of the franchise. In the end, the Thunder sent Harden and other role players to the Houston Rockets for Jeremy Lamb, Kevin Martin, and three draft picks.

3 Harden’s gambit to get away from the Houston Rockets

Although Harden’s time in OKC resulted in a trip to the NBA Finals, his stint with the Houston Rockets saw the guard take a massive leap in his career. During his stay with the team, the Beard averaged 29.6 points, 6.0 rebounds, 7.7 assists, and 1.8 steals per game.

Apart from those numbers, Harden would go on to win an MVP award for his work during the 2017-18 season and capture three scoring titles while playing for Houston. And if Chris Paul could have stayed healthy during his MVP campaign, the Beard might have returned to the NBA Finals instead of the Golden State Warriors.

After spending most of his prime in Space City, Harden saw the departure of Daryl Morey and Mike D’Antoni as the final nail in the coffin. Instead of playing with younger teammates and a first-year coach in Stephen Silas, the All-Star guard forced his way out of Houston.

And when discussions dragged on over to training camp and the start of the 2020-21 season, Harden flexed a less-than-ideal physique and a lack of interest in playing on the court. This forced the Rockets’ front office to enter into a four-team deal that sent the Beard to the Brooklyn Nets in exchange for a package headlined by Victor Oladipo and a plethora of draft picks. But while Harden did get what he wanted by joining Durant and Kyrie Irving in Brooklyn, it didn’t mean his trade-related troubles would end.

James Harden's Total Points and Average Per Team

2 The Beard’s fallout with the Brooklyn Nets

When Harden made his way to Brooklyn to team up with Irving and Durant, a lot of people thought that nothing could stop the Nets from winning a ring or two. Turns out, the reason why the Beard’s new team wouldn't be able to at least make the Finals is a trio of All-Stars.

Thanks to various injuries and Irving’s reluctance to get vaccinated against COVID-19, the Nets’ true potential with its super team never materialized. It even came to a point when both Durant and Irving were injured, leaving Harden to be the sole guy to lift Brooklyn on his shoulders.

Read more: James Harden expected to 'blink first' in Philadelphia 76ers dispute

Seeing little hope in winning a ring with the Nets, Harden looked to reunite with Morey in the City of Brotherly Love and team up with Joel Embiid. Although he never made a formal trade request, the stars still aligned and he was sent to Philadelphia in exchange for a package headlined by Ben Simmons.

After playing 80 games for the Nets, Harden has done it again by finding his way to a new team without suffering any real consequence.

1 Harden’s war against Daryl Morey and the Philadelphia 76ers

With Harden and Embiid teaming up in Philadelphia, there was hope that the franchise could reach new heights by at least making the Finals. In order for the team to do that, Morey had to surround his All-Star duo with veterans, such as P.J. Tucker.

After the Sixers failed to make the Eastern Conference Finals in the 2022-23 season, Harden opted into the final year of his contract instead of becoming a free agent. The All-Star guard did so with the intention of asking for a trade request, specifically to the Los Angeles Clippers.

While Morey did promise to honor his request, the Sixers general manager added that he’ll only do so if the price is right. After discussions with the Clippers ended without any trade for Harden, Harden publicly called Morey out as a liar and said that he does not want to be in an organization with him.

This move caught the NBA’s attention and proceeded to slap Harden with a $100,000 fine for his actions. This decision includes an interview with the All-Star, which revealed his belief that the Sixers will not honor his trade request.

For what it’s worth, Harden defended that he made the “liar” comments about Morey after the Sixers president promised that he would trade him quickly, only for the team to end up taking a U-turn and saying they plan to bring him to training camp.

Whatever the case may be, there’s no denying that Harden’s trade drama with the Sixers is one of the ugliest in recent years—even worse than his Rockets controversy where he also forced his way out of Houston