James Harden Sued for Damages at $30 Million Mansion

NBA star James Harden is being sued by a man who claims he lied about the use of a $30 million mansion in Beverly Hills according to TMZ. The man, George Santo Pietro, owns the mansion which includes 8 bedrooms, 10 bathrooms, a gym, a spa and a pool. TMZ said Harden signed a contract to use the mansion for one week and he paid over $82,000. One of the things Santo Pietro said that there were details in the contract that stated Harden could not have more than seven adults on the property at any time.

Santo Pietro said there were two instances where Harden had more than 15 people on the property. That wouldn't have been a problem, but Santo Pietro would have charged Harden more if he would have known more than seven people would be in the mansion. He went on to say there were damages on the property and the neighbors weren't happy. Santo Pietro wants $300,000 for the former NBA MVP. Harden is also being sued for fraud and punitive damages.

Harden is considered as one of the five best players in the league. In fact, Sports Illustrated recently released its top 100 NBA players for 2020 and Harden came in at No. 5.

"To carry a league-high usage rate while playing the second-most minutes in the league is a preposterous kind of workload. James Harden shouldered it impossibly well, producing (36.1 PPG, 7.5 APG, 6.6 RPG) in a way that no other player in the league could," Rob Mahoney of SI wrote. "Capacity is its own kind of skill. Only certain skill sets can scale up effectively, and only one like Harden's could function at this ridiculous extreme.

"No player on this list could do more for an offense with less help. Where players like Giannis Antetokounmpo rely on the spacing created by others, Harden makes his own with a game-breaking step-back."

Harden, 30, was drafted by the Oklahoma City Thunder No. 3 overall in 2009. He was then traded to the Houston Rockets in 2012 and has been their franchise player ever since. In his career, Harden won the MVP award in 2018, he's a seven-time All-Star and he has made the All-NBA First Team five times. The Arizona State alum has won the scoring title the last two seasons and he was the assists leader in 2017.