NBA’s James Harden stunned as Chinese fans buy 10,000 bottles of his wine in 10 seconds – after a ‘great move’ criticising Daryl Morey
- Harden says ‘no way’ after his personal brand of wine sells out during appearance on Chinese influencer Xiao Yang’s live stream
- Four-time NBA champ Andre Iguadola believes Harden’s outburst at 76ers boss was a calculated move as ‘there’s history there with China’
James Harden was shocked after his Chinese fans bought 10,000 bottles of his personal brand of wine in just 10 seconds, as fellow NBA superstar Andre Iguadola praised him for a “great move” criticising Daryl Morey during a promotional tour of the country.
The 33-year-old American Harden recently joined a live stream on social media with local influencer Xiao Yang, who wanted to show the Philadelphia 76ers guard how quickly they could sell out his new product.
Harden launched his own “J-Harden Wines” brand in 2022, to “bring excitement to the industry and turn some heads” with some eye-catching colours and a picture of himself on the prosecco, sauvignon and red wine bottles.
During the live stream, Harden assured viewers the wine was “not expensive” and said he would usually sell a few cases in a day.
When Yang turned around and told a stunned Harden the bottles had sold out just 10 seconds after sales opened, Harden burst out laughing and said “no way” then went over to the computer to check the sales record himself.
The incident went viral on China’s Twitter-like platform Weibo, with fans loving the basketball icon’s “down-to-earth” response – which included some hilarious facial expressions, and a cartwheel in the background of the live stream.
“This sales volume is really nothing,” one commenter wrote. “It will probably take you a second to release 50,000 bottles. [Harden’s] future will be in the Chinese Basketball Association and live-streaming!”
“Harden was so funny,” another fan said. “He is so much fun.”
Harden wants to play in China, receives warning he ‘could be out of NBA soon’
Harden, who is seeking a trade after opting into the last year of his deal during the off season, had also apologised to China after Morey – who was then general manager of the Houston Rockets – tweeted in support of the 2019 pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong.
Morey’s post caused a huge backlash that saw broadcast arrangements for the annual NBA China Games suspended, with Harden’s Rockets already in China for the popular preseason fixtures. NBA coverage was ultimately suspended in the country for the whole of the 2019-20 season.
Four-time NBA champion Iguadola chimed in on Harden’s outburst at Morey in China during an appearance on the “Gil’s Arena” basketball podcast, insisting Harden made a calculated move.
“Harden can say something and there may not be any backlash because there is a history there with Daryl Morey and China, so it was a great move out of leverage by James,” Iguadola said.
“It’s going to be hard to discipline James, because what did he do wrong? And James is going to sell some shoes, that’s ultimately why he’s over there.”
