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James Harden for the WIN!!!
The NBA superstar just emerged victorious in a 3-year legal battle with a photog who claims Harden broke his finger in a late-night attack back in 2016 … in a civil case that went all the way to trial.
Harden was sued by David Flores — a photog who claims he was trying to get a street interview with James outside of a Hollywood lounge around 2 AM on May 13, 2016, when Harden “angrily smacked” his hand, breaking his finger in the process.
Flores initially claimed to have video of the encounter — but allegedly admitted to manipulating the clip … and said he no longer had the original version.
Flores sued for negligence, assault and battery … and was looking for serious cash. Harden had denied wrongdoing from the start.
A judge had ordered the two sides to a settlement conference to see if they could work out a deal — but the talks apparently went nowhere and the case went before a jury.
The good news for Harden … the jury found that he did not intend to cause any harm to Flores and did not act negligently.
Translation — full win for Harden … and Flores gets ZERO.
For the record, Harden could have afforded to settle if he wanted to … the Houston Rockets superstar signed a $228 million contract extension in 2017.