James Harden is still drawing elite billing, even in a ranking built around creation. Bleacher Report pegged the Cleveland Cavaliers star as the 11th-best “creator” in the NBA heading into the 2026-27 season, putting him just ahead of Denver Nuggets guard Jamal Murray and just behind Philadelphia 76ers forward and Cavaliers legend LeBron James.
That placement lines up with the kind of production Harden has carried for years. He owns career averages of 7.3 assists per game in the regular season and 6.4 assists per game in the playoffs, and his overall resume still reads like that of one of the league’s most accomplished offensive engines.
Cleveland brought Harden in from the LA Clippers last season, and he immediately gave the Cavaliers steady playmaking. He averaged 20.5 points and 7.7 assists per game in the regular season, then posted 19.2 points and 5.5 assists per game in the 2026 playoffs.
The Cavaliers’ run last season reached a high point when they beat the Toronto Raptors and Detroit Pistons to get to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since 1992 without LeBron on the roster. That trip ended in rough fashion, though, as the New York Knicks - the 2026 champions after beating the San Antonio Spurs - swept Cleveland in the conference finals.
Kenny Atkinson is set to open this season with Harden, Donovan Mitchell, Peyton Watson, Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen in the starting lineup. On paper, that group gives Cleveland plenty of firepower. Watson came over from the Nuggets in a sign-and-trade deal, and Harden was the one who recruited him to the Cavaliers.
Harden’s career path has now taken him through the Oklahoma City Thunder, Houston Rockets, Brooklyn Nets, Philadelphia 76ers, Clippers and Cavaliers. Across that stretch, he has put up 24.0 points, 5.6 rebounds and 7.3 assists per game in the regular season, along with 22.2 points, 5.4 rebounds and 6.4 assists per game in the playoffs.
His individual honors speak for themselves: 11 All-Star selections, eight All-NBA teams, the 2011-12 Sixth Man of the Year award with the Thunder and the 2017-18 MVP award with the Rockets. He remains a top-75 player of all time.
The Cavaliers open this season on the road against LeBron and the 76ers, which should bring plenty of buzz. It would have been a different kind of storyline if LeBron had joined Harden, Mitchell, Mobley and Allen in Cleveland, but instead he signed a two-year deal with the 76ers to team with Tyrese Maxey, Joel Embiid and Jaylen Brown.
For Harden, the bigger question now is whether he can finally get over the championship hump before he calls it a career. He reached the NBA Finals in 2012, when the Thunder fell to LeBron and the Miami Heat in five games.
Cleveland re-signed Harden this offseason to a three-year, $97 million contract. He will make $30,647,619 this season and $32,180,000 next season, with a player option worth $33,712,381 for 2028-29.
In Other News...
Cavs History Made No. 6 More Memorable Than Fans Realize
The No. 6 has a little more meaning in Cleveland now, even if it is not hanging in the rafters at Rocket Arena. The Cavaliers never officially retired the number as a franchise tribute, but the NBAs decision to retire it league-wide after Bill Russells death in 2022 means no player in wine and gold will wear it again, closing a small but notable chapter in team history.
Over the years, several Cavaliers have taken the number, including Mitchell Butler, Manny Harris and JaVale McGee, among others, making it a quiet thread through different eras of the franchise. For most fans, it was just another jersey number, but the league-wide change gives it a new permanence in Cleveland, even without a formal ceremony from the team. [Read more 🡒]
Cavs Roster Is Set But Fringe Decisions Still Stand Out
The Cavaliers have finished the last bit of roster housekeeping ahead of the regular season, with NBA.coms transaction log showing a round of Exhibit 10 cuts that clears the path for opening night. Cleveland now moves forward with a group built around 14 standard contracts and two-way support, the kind of structure teams use when the big-picture roster is already set and the final decisions are about depth, flexibility and keeping the developmental pipeline in place.
For the players who were waived, the next step is expected to be a familiar one in the G League. For the Cavs, the more relevant part is what those moves confirm: the club is heading into the season with its core intact and only fringe spots left to sort through, a reminder that even after the main roster picture is complete, the margins still matter for a team trying to keep itself ready over the long haul. [Read more 🡒]
Cavs Add Developmental Big As System Depth Takes Shape
After a summer run with the Cavaliers in Summer League, TreVon Spillers has landed an Exhibit-10 contract with Cleveland, a move that points more toward the organizations developmental pipeline than the NBA roster. The signing gives the Cavs a chance to keep a look at a big man who has already bounced through a winding college path, with his most recent work coming over the past two seasons at Wake Forest after earlier stops at JUCO and Appalachian State.
For Cleveland, the value is in system depth. Exhibit-10 deals are designed to funnel players into the G-League track, and Spillers is expected to spend his time with the Cleveland Charge, where the staff can keep molding him without taking up a standard roster spot. It is the kind of low-risk, internal move teams make when they want another big in the building and more continuity between the NBA club and its affiliate. [Read more 🡒]