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Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Sport
Karl Rasmussen

Kevin Garnett Likens Jordan Poole to James Harden, Drops Bold Prediction for Wizards' Guard

During a recent episode of Kevin Garnett’s “KG Certified,” the former NBA star made an eye-opening comparison between Jordan Poole and James Harden, while also dropping a couple of bold scoring predictions for the Wizards guard in ‘23-‘24. 

Garnett stated that following the trade that sent Poole from the Warriors to Washington, the 24-year-old could be in line for a top-five scoring season this year. Additionally, Garnett said he’d be surprised if Poole didn’t have at least two 60-point games.

Exiting his sixth-man role in Golden State, Garnett compared Poole to Harden when he left the Thunder and joined the Rockets back in 2012.

“I think Jordan Poole feels like he’s been held back. That’s how I thought James Harden felt when he came out of OKC,” said Garnett. 

“I look for Jordan Poole to be top five in scoring this year. And if he don’t shoot more than 25 balls, I’ll be shocked. And if he don’t have not one, but a couple 60 balls this year, I will be shocked.” 

Harden came off the bench in Oklahoma City during his first three seasons in the NBA. When he joined Houston in 2012-13, he was inserted into the starting lineup and averaged 25.9 points that season. 

Poole made 115 starts in 266 games throughout his four-year tenure with the Warriors. Last season he started 43 games and averaged 20.4 points per game on 15.6 field goal attempts. 

Garnett is anticipating a major offensive explosion is in line for Poole this season. He figures to be a starter during his first season in Washington, where Garnett expects him to be attempting a plethora of shots on a nightly basis.

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