Olivia Miles struggled in her first playoff series against the Liberty. Now, fans have already started drawing parallels between her and James Harden, who also has a record of disappointing postseason performances.

The 2026 Rookie of the Year had a lacklustre outing against the New York Liberty in the first round of the playoffs. Miles pointed out that lack of experience played a part.

“I have to remind myself that I’m a rookie, I’m not a 10-year vet," Miles said. "I have to remind myself I don’t know what I’m doing…now I do. Now, there’s no excuse…I’m ready to get it back.” 

Similarly, back in May, Harden postseason struggles continued while playing for the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Now, a meme on X has circulated involving both of them. Fans couldn't agree more.

Fans draw parallels between Miles and Harden

A fan-made meme on X has gone viral, which shows Harden removing a face mask of Miles while wearing a Lynx jersey. Fans found it funny and accurate.

“This edit is too accurate,” a fan wrote on stephortless's X post. 

In over 180 career playoff games, Harden has been held to 3 or fewer made field goals in roughly 20% of those contests. Miles' performance hinted at the same struggle.

“Harden would be proud,” another fan wrote. 

In both games, Miles could post 16 points in total and struggled against the experienced Liberty side. It was Harden-esque to the fans.

“Harden called and wants his body back,” a fan commented.

Miles surpassed Caitlin Clark's rookie-season scoring record (769), earning 790 points this year.

Similarly, Harden has excelled in the regular season over the years but has struggled in the postseason. 

"Playoff Harden 2.0," wrote another fan. 

However, some felt the comparison to Harden was disrespectful. The NBA MVP has proven himself in the playoffs, having 50 career playoff games with 30+ points. 

Miles has yet to prove herself. 

“8 points in a playoff series is disrespect to Harden,” a fan wrote.

Miles, playing in her rookie season, has a long way to go. However, fans haven’t let her off the hook after her first playoff series, which ended in a disaster. 

Written by

Avishek Sarkar