As he’d done so many times over the series’ five games, Royce O’Neale saw James Harden coming at him. This time, with the Utah Jazz’s season at its end, the two competitors embraced, and Harden gave the man who’d shadowed him a message.
“I won’t say his exact words,” O’Neale said. “Words of encouragement and motivation. You know, going into the summer and next season, just earning that respect from him as an MVP and a great player, that’s a big moment for me.”
If O’Neale had been unnoticed or underappreciated by casual observers, the Jazz wing won’t be going forward.