James Harden Names Durant, Kyrie in All-Time Starting 5 of Former Teammates in Video

James Harden has played with a number of talented teammates throughout his career, which makes picking a starting five particularly difficult.

But that is exactly what he did during an interview with Lacy (nine-minute mark):

Harden ended up choosing a starting lineup of himself, Kyrie Irving, Russell Westbrook, Kevin Durant and Joel Embiid, although he gave strong consideration to Chris Paul in the backcourt as well.

"That point guard position is crazy," he said. "You've got CP, you've got Russ and you've got Kyrie."

He also wasn't too worried about the lack of size in the group.

"I like that team," Harden said. "Small team that can run the floor, has handles, can shoot."

The prompt of the question was to assume everyone was in their prime, so it is not difficult to envision that group lifting the Larry O'Brien Trophy as champions. After all, Irving is the only one who never won a league MVP from that five, and he is a nine-time All-Star and one of the most skilled players in the league.

The inclusion of Durant and Irving is also notable since they both played with Harden on the Brooklyn Nets during the 2020-21 and 2021-22 seasons. 

Expectations were sky-high for that iteration of a Big Three, but Brooklyn never made it past the second round of the playoffs as injuries and a suspension derailed their time together. Harden was ultimately traded to the Philadelphia 76ers during the 2021-22 campaign.

While that trio didn't win a championship together on the Nets, they likely would have if the peak versions of Embiid and Westbrook were also on the roster.