Houston Rockets Steve Francis Mandatory Credit: Ronald Martinez /Allsport
After nine years and eight seasons with the Houston Rockets, franchise icon James Harden had decided that he had enough. Harden and the Rockets reached the Western Conference Finals twice but never made it to the NBA Finals, much less won a championship.
Prior to the 2019-20 season, Harden swapped out his former guard of choice in Chris Paul for his longtime childhood friend in Russell Westbrook. The move gave Harden his third star teammate, joining the likes of Dwight Howard and the aforementioned Paul, and each of the previous duos reached the Western Conference Finals, falling to the Golden State Warriors each time.