James Harden continued his trademark nosebleed dunk celebration after getting some air in the Rockets overtime win against the Wizards on Monday. Just like he stirs the pot after shaking a defender off the dribble, the fake nosebleed has become another signature move in Harden’s repertoire.
James Harden’s signature celebration is pretending to get a nose bleed
It’s been a thing for awhile now, but Harden won’t admit it.
The NBA’s reigning MVP got out in transition and threw down a one-handed tomahawk. He then took a knee and checked his nose to see if he was bleeding. It was all a ploy. He cracked a smile on his way to the bench.
It’s not the first time he’s done this. Harden celebrated this way after his dunk gave the Rockets a 48-33 second-quarter lead in Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals. Immediately after he landed, he put his hand beneath his grill as if to catch something that was about to fall off his face.
Color commentator Marv Albert presumed Harden had lost a contact after flying through the air and stuffing the ball into the rim with force. But this was no misplaced contact lens. It was actually a post-dunk celebration The Beard has been doing for years.
This is James Harden’s dunk celebration
It’s not the Stephen Curry shimmy, the LeBron James chest pound or the three goggles, but it’s what The Beard often does after he flushes a dunk.
Here’s Harden’s nosebleed celebration after a dunk in Game 2 against the Jazz.
Here it is in Game 1 of the first round against the Timberwolves:
And here it is again during Game 3 against the Wolves.
Harden wouldn’t acknowledge the nose bleed as part of his post-dunk ritual. When he was asked about it in a press conference after Game 2 against the Jazz, he laughed it off before responding, “Next question.”
But whether he admits it or not, this is something James Harden does after dunking a basketball. LONG LIVE THE NOSEBLEED!
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