Plenty of Cleveland Cavaliers fans were panicking when the franchise traded for James Harden last February. This wasn't a critique of Harden's talent, but rather a widespread worry that Harden and the ball-dominant Donovan Mitchell would clash.
And while the Cavs didn't reach their goal in 2025-26, it wasn't because of a Harden-Mitchell fallout. In fact, the two superstars got on great.
Now we have some insight as to how and why the two guards developed such a natural relationship so quickly.
Years ago, Donovan Mitchell got to watch the James Harden-Chris Paul working relationship up close
Appearing recently on the Cousins podcast (with hosts Vince Carter and Tracy McGrady), Mitchell said that it was easy working with Harden because the two already knew each other. When Harden was on the Rockets and Mitchell was on the Utah Jazz, the two players spent summers together on Adidas trips (all over the world), according to Mitchell. Paul was also there, and Mitchell got to observe how Harden and Paul communicated with each other.
Of course, Mitchell is implying here that the Harden-Paul relationship gave him a reliable template upon which to create his own basketball bond with Harden years later as teammates.
Mitchell has shared parts of this story before, like how he, Harden, and Paul worked out together during portions of those summers in Houston. Mitchell has also credited CP3 (along with Paul George) in the past for convincing him to stay in the 2017 draft.
But the Harden part in all of this is important for a Cavaliers team that now features both Harden and Mitchell as its backcourt. Mitchell spent multiple summers listening to Harden and Paul discuss actions and coverages. He witnessed how two elite guards can share the court and actually make it work.
Obviously, Paul's role in all of this was totally unintentional. He had no great reason not to help Mitchell, but he would've never guessed that his example alone would set the stage for a much later Harden-Mitchell pairing in Cleveland.
James Harden deserves credit for Cavaliers' chemistry, too
Mitchell has said in the past that Harden deferred to him completely upon arrival in Cleveland, clarifying to Mitchell that this was Mitchell's team. We also saw Harden embrace his court-vision and passing skills on many nights with the Cavs. He's at the point in his career where he just wants to win, and it shows. That's helped the chemistry, and it's helped avoid any sort of ego clash with Mitchell.
Harden and Mitchell definitely fast-tracked their chemistry last season, and now we pretty much know how they did it. It was a combination of having a prior bond, Mitchell pulling from his CP3 influence, and Harden being a team-first guy.
That'll all have to continue if the Cavs want to get closer to the Finals in 2026-27 than they did last year.
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