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.
Harden returned to China for the first time in four years last week to meet fans, attend events and speak to aspiring basketball stars – but also caused waves back home after criticising 76ers president Morey, who is a sore subject among Chinese reporters.
James Harden is having the time of his life in China 😂🔥 sold 10,000 bottle of wine in 5 secs
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) August 16, 2023
During a recent press conference at an Adidas-sponsored event in Beijing, Harden went viral on Chinese social media for calling Morey “a liar”, saying he would never play on the team again.