Max Kellerman Draws Controversy Over James Harden Comments

Former ESPN host Max Kellerman stirred up quite the conversation recently by criticizing Los Angeles Clippers forward James Harden regarding his lackluster playoff performance. He made a rather bold comparison, likening bringing Harden in to win a championship to selecting Donald Trump to fix the country’s issues.

“Bringing in James Harden to win a championship is like choosing Donald Trump to rebuild the country,” Kellerman stated on the “Game Over” podcast this Wednesday. However, he later expressed regret over his remarks, acknowledging that making such comparisons crosses a line.

“I shouldn’t have said that because it’s unfair to James Harden. I didn’t intend to embarrass him publicly in such a viral way. It was just wrong,” Kellerman admitted during a Netflix podcast on Friday.

While he did attempt to scale back his comments slightly, suggesting that it wasn’t quite as severe a comparison as it sounded, there was still an underlying implication that resonated. “I don’t think it’s all that bad. It’s not as dire as choosing Trump, but that’s the mentality at play,” he remarked.

Interestingly, despite his critical stance, Kellerman refrained from drawing parallels to Joe Biden, who is also a controversial figure. It’s worth noting that, regardless of one’s political views, Trump has been elected to the presidency two times, whereas Harden has yet to lead any team to a championship, nor has he reached the NBA Finals as a primary player—he was on the bench in 2012 when the Thunder made their appearance.

In hindsight, some might argue that if Kellerman sought a more fitting analogy, he could have compared Harden to Kamala Harris, another high-profile figure without a significant championship to her name.

Kellerman’s comments reminded many why he earned a reputation that alienated some viewers during his time on ESPN’s “First Take.” He often intertwined sports commentary with political discourse, frequently critiquing Trump and his supporters. Back in 2020, he suggested that Southern Trump supporters were “sensitive to low-quality information, easy to propagandize, and largely unaffected by facts.”

While Kellerman indeed has talent, his persona sometimes comes across as that of a “limousine liberal.” Residing in both New York and Los Angeles, he can appear disconnected from everyday Americans who may not align with his political beliefs.

According to reports, Kellerman’s increasing left-leaning commentary played a role in his eventual exit from “First Take.” Even Stephen A. Smith reportedly grew weary of Kellerman’s focus on politics overshadowing sports.

Currently, Kellerman co-hosts a podcast on Netflix with Rich Paul, LeBron James’ agent. The show’s vibe implies it may cater more to a high-society audience than to average sports fans.