James Harden is one of the best basketball players alive right now. But as we learned with Michael Jordan and the crying MJ meme, this does not exclude the fearsome baller from becoming fodder for internet humor.
Harden suffered an eye injury during Houston’s Game 2 against the Golden State Warriors in the Western Conference Semifinals. The injury forced him to temporarily leave the game, and when he returned, he was often see blinking, rubbing his eyes, struggling to see properly.
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His eyes were abnormally bloodshot and watery as a result. This inspired many internet users to transform Harden’s misery into an innocuous meme about being too high in social situations.
“You said weed? No sir officer, I haven’t smoked any weed tonight” pic.twitter.com/C8G0MedsDg
— Emmanuel Acho (@EmmanuelAcho) May 1, 2019
My mom: have you been smoking marijuana??
Me: pic.twitter.com/GOJjijFaNV— Rob (@robrousseau) May 1, 2019
https://twitter.com/Hovain/status/1123429345488527362
But for some, Harden didn’t remind them of being accidentally too stoned. Instead, he resembled Childish Gambino in his “This Is America” video.
https://twitter.com/Yahye4Hunn1d/status/1123450723637833728
Considering Childish Gambino, a.k.a. Donald Glover, is a known marijuana fan, we believe the joke of being too high applies here, too.
James Edward Harden Jr. is widely regarded as one of the greatest scorers and shooting guards in NBA history. In 2021, Harden was honored as one of the league’s top 75 players by being named to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team.
Harden played college basketball for the Arizona State Sun Devils, where he was named a consensus All-American and Pac-10 Player of the Year in 2009. Harden was selected with the third overall pick in the 2009 NBA draft by the Oklahoma City Thunder.
