James Harden moved on from Kardashian curse with Ashanti

AS one NBA star plunges himself deep into the Kardashian curse, the reality megastar’s ex James Harden has moved on with an R&B icon.

Khloe Kardashian has been a wrecking ball in the NBA.

NO Kardashian, no playoff problems.

That appears to be the mantra James Harden is following this year, as the No. 1-seeded Houston Rockets surge to the second round of the NBA playoffs.

After cutting ties from Khloe Kardashian in 2016, the 28-year-old MVP front-runner, who endured a mediocre season the same year as the ill-fated romance, has found another lady love to cheer him on, R&B singer Ashanti.

“James Harden put Ashanti up at a Houston hotel, then she sat with his family at the game and he bought her flowers,” a source close to Harden told Terez Owens.

“They are 100% in a relationship.”

Ashanti, 37, who split from rapper Nelly in 2012, posted several snaps and videos to her Instagram story on Wednesday, as the Rockets topped the Minnesota Timberwolves 122-104, winning their first-round series 4-1.

Harden has yet to go public with his rumoured new gal pal. It appears he’s changed his tune since dating Kardashian, 33, in 2015.

Speaking with Sports Illustrated last year, Harden said he felt the eyes on him during the high-profile relationship.

Houston are the top ranked team in the NBA.

“I wasn’t uncomfortable, but it wasn’t me. I don’t need pictures of myself when I’m driving my car,” Harden said at the time. “Who cares? What shoes am I wearing? Who cares? Where am I eating? Who cares? It was unnecessary stuff that I think trickled down to my teammates. I had to eliminate that.”

Harden was first linked to Ashanti earlier this month, according to Sports Gossip.

Since Harden and Kardashian split in 2016, the reality TV star has developed a reputation as a wrecking ball in the NBA.

Khloe Kardashian and Tristan Thompson are still together.

As detailed in a lengthy ESPN feature on Tristan Thompson, the Cavaliers front office was concerned when star centre Thompson started dating the reality megastar in 2016.

It’s unclear if LeBron James, who is close with Thompson and lobbied hard for the 27-year-old centre’s five-year, $82 million deal, was among those concerned.

James is known for hating distractions like the one Kardashian, 33, has the potential to bring and for subtweeting his teammates if something is on his mind.

It comes after Thompson was reportedly busted cheating on his partner, just weeks before the couple celebrated the birth of their first child on the eve of the NBA playoffs.

Kardashian has become something of a presence at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland.

Kardashian has a tumultuous relationship history with NBA players that might have informed the Cavaliers’ concerns.

R&B royalty Ashanti.

Her whirlwind romance with Lamar Odom, the troubled former Los Angeles Lakers star, came to an end in 2013 after a turbulent four years of marriage.

She dated Harden in 2015 as he endured a thoroughly mediocre season and the team plunged in the standings.

Following their breakup last February, Harden complained he was uncomfortable with all the attention he received during their time together.

Most recently, former lottery pick Rashad McCants, whom Kardashian dated in 2009, blamed the perceptions around the high-profile pairing for costing him millions in potential earnings and derailing his NBA career.

Originally published as James Harden moved on from Kardashian curse with Ashanti