Case dismissed — no criminal record
Good news for James Harden: a misdemeanor gun charge in Texas was dropped after he completed an alternative resolution program. A Harris County criminal judge in Houston signed off on the dismissal at the district attorney’s request, which means Harden won’t carry a criminal conviction from this incident.
What led to the arrest
The incident stems from an arrest on June 13 in Houston, when police discovered a handgun inside Harden’s vehicle. Under Texas law, having a firearm in plain view inside a car without the proper license can be treated as a misdemeanor — potentially punishable by up to a year behind bars and fines reaching $4,000.
How the legal wrap-up worked
Harden avoided a conviction through an alternative resolution route, a program that typically lets people do community service or similar obligations instead of taking a criminal record. The public court documents don’t spell out the exact terms of his agreement, and officials and Harden’s Houston lawyer hadn’t commented publicly by Friday.
Season recap and what’s next
On the hardwood, Harden — now 36 — wrapped up his 17th NBA season in May. He averaged 23.6 points per game and took the court for 70 of the Cavaliers’ 82 regular-season games. His playoff run ended when the team was swept by the eventual champions in the Eastern Conference finals.
Money moves and career highlights
Harden opted not to pick up a $42.3 million player option for next season, apparently hunting for a longer-term contract instead — though no new deal has been announced yet. For the record, Harden is an 11-time All-Star and has made All-NBA eight times. He also snagged MVP honors in 2017-18 with the Houston Rockets, averaging 30.4 points that year and steering the Rockets to the Western Conference finals before running into the Golden State Warriors.
