Shaquille O'Neal Delivers Brutal Assessment of James Harden

It appears James Harden‘s long NBA Finals drought will continue with an Eastern Conference Finals series sweep at the hands of the New York Knicks.

Harden hasn’t made it to the NBA Finals since his trip as the Oklahoma City Thunder’s Sixth Man of the Year in 2012. Now a veteran NBA guard, he failed to lead the Cleveland Cavaliers to a single victory in the 2026 conference finals.

At the end of the third quarter in Game 4, the Cavaliers trailed the visiting Knicks by nearly 30 points. Harden had just 12 points on 2/7 shooting from the field and 0/5 shooting from behind the 3-point arc to go along with his team-high four turnovers through the first three periods.

Shaquille O’Neal delivered a brutal assessment of Harden’s play during the “Inside the NBA” halftime show.

"James Harden is doing what James usually does - disappear,” O’Neal told co-hosts Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith and Charles Barkley.

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Through the first three games of the Eastern Conference Finals, Harden averaged 17.3 points, five rebounds and 3.3 assists per game. The 36-year-old guard was unable to elevate his play in a win-or-go-home matchup against the Knicks in Game 5.

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While Harden put forth a rough performance through three quarters, Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell did all he could. Mitchell had a game-high 28 points heading into the fourth quarter at Cleveland’s Rocket Arena.

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This story was originally published May 25, 2026 at 9:23 PM.