James Harden and Marcus Smart go viral for producing the 'worst possession of basketball you will ever see'

James Harden and Marcus Smart have began trending on Twitter for all the wrong reasons.

It wasn't a classic Harden crossover or some tenacious defence from Smart which saw the pair go viral.

No, instead it was something that is being described as the 'worst possession of basketball you will ever see'.

And if truth be told, it makes for funny viewing.

With the new NBA season finally underway, the Philadelphia 76ers began their campaign with a tough fixture on the road against the Boston Celtics.

In the second half, something happened which sent social media into overdrive.

As Sixers star Harden drove towards the basket, he quickly pulled back, sending defender Smart crashing to the floor.

Smart, clearly trying to draw an offensive foul, produced the flop of all flops and went sliding backwards towards the paint.

Seeing this, and now with plenty of open space to take the shot, Harden showboated and shimmied his shoulders before taking attempting his three-pointer.

Rather hilariously, though, he completely air-balled, sparking laughter among the fans inside Boston's TD Garden.

It wasn't quite the opening day highlight Harden was hoping for and footage of the sequence instantly went viral online.

Bleacher Report tweeted: "The Harden shimmy, the brick, the Marcus Smart flop... NBA is back."

While John Karalis added: "James Harden shimmying after Smart went down and firing up an airball was absolutely electric."

YouTuber Troydan simply said: "This is the most James Harden like play."

But perhaps the most brutal assessment came from Rob Perez.

"The flop. The shimmy. The slide. The brick. One of the worst possessions of basketball you will ever see. absolute A+," he said.

To be fair to Harden though, he was cooking in the first half.

Nit only did he head into the break with 22 points, three rebounds, four assists, 4/7 three-pointers and 8/8 free throw attempts, but he also winded back the years and produced a vintage step-back three with two Celtics defenders breathing down his neck.