Harding played his first professional season in the Midwest Professional Basketball League (MPBL) before he joined the Pistons in 1964. He spent parts of four seasons in the NBA with the Pistons and the Chicago Bulls during which he was the subject of team misconduct, criminal activity and a season-long league suspension. After his NBA career ended, Harding played briefly in the Continental Basketball Association (CBA) for the Trenton Colonials and the American Basketball Association (ABA) for the Indiana Pacers.
Harding's career came to a premature end when he was imprisoned from 1969 to 1971 for a concealed weapons charge. He attempted to pursue a professional comeback after his release but he was murdered in Detroit in 1972.
Harding was born to 17-year-old Lillie Mae Thomas on May 4, 1942. Thomas' parents forced her to put her baby up for adoption and he was adopted by local couple Hezekiah and Fannie Harding, who were friends of the Thomas family and looked after unwanted children. Thomas would maintain a connection with her son; she followed Harding during his high school career and developed a relationship with him during his adult life. Thomas told relatives that Harding's father was a married man living in Detroit but never disclosed his identity.

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