James Harden Made Massive Donation To Arizona State NIL Collective, But It's Not Paying Off So Far

James Harden is doing everything he can to help Arizona State build its basketball program, and that includes contributing big bucks.

The Los Angeles Clippers star has made massive donations — in the "high six figures" — to his alma mater's Sun Angel NIL collective, according to Front Office Sports.

"NIL, nowadays, is the most important thing. Just because kids want to be compensated for their play and their work, which makes sense," Harden said. "I wanted to be a part of helping the team and the school get players because we're a very, very great program, and a great school. So if NIL is the problem, then I can help with that."

Thanks, in part, to Harden's contributions, head coach Bobby Hurley's ASU program was able to land several big names this year, including freshman phenoms Jayden Quaintance and Joson Sanon, as well as transfer guard BJ Freeman.

Unfortunately for the Sun Devils, though, their season hasn't exactly gone as planned. Quaintance averages just 9.4 points and 7.9 rebounds per game, and Sanon has been wildly inconsistent on offense. 

Arizona State took a massive blow on Sunday, when Freeman was dismissed from the team for conduct detrimental to the program.

READ: Arizona State's Top Scorer Kicked Off Team After Multiple Ejections And Headbutt

James Harden's No. 13 jersey was retired by the Arizona State Sun Devils.

(Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)

Because of the unpredictability of college players, not all NBA players are on board with contributing to their school's NIL collectives.

"You want me to pay $250,000 just to get a guy to come play for my school?" an anonymous NBA All-Star told FOS. "And then I have to watch them potentially average five points per game and come off the bench? The market for this stuff is crazy." 

With just four games left in the regular season, the 13-14 Sun Devils currently sit in 15th place in the Big 12 Conference.