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Report: James Harden came into Team USA camp 'focused on being a lockdown defender'

Stephen R. Sylvanie / Reuters

Despite being one of the biggest offensive threats in the NBA, James Harden is sub-par at best on the defensive end.

It's no secret, either. Harden ranked 398th of 437 players in the league last season in ESPN's Defensive Real Plus-Minus metric, which calculates a player's estimated on-court impact on his team's defensive performance.

His incompetence even triggered one fan to make a 12-minute video consisting of all his defensive miscues during the 2013-14 season, during which he can be seen lackadaisically losing his man time and time again.

However, that was last season, and it seems Harden, who is currently training with Team USA ahead of the upcoming FIBA World Cup, is aware that improvements are needed on the defensive end.

Per Sheridan Hoops' Bobby Gonzalez:

I spoke to several members of the USAB staff, and behind the scenes they were amazed at how good James Harden has become as an overall player since his last tour with Team USA two years ago. The fact that he came in and was focused on being a lockdown defender blew them away.

If Harden can make the necessary improvements, the Houston Rockets' backcourt will suddenly look significantly more dangerous as they already possess an elite defender in Patrick Beverley, who was named to the NBA's All-Defensive Second Team last season.

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