Los Angeles Clippers star James Harden is remaining in Los Angeles.
ESPN reports that the 11-time NBA All-Star is declining his player option and plans to sign a new two-year, $81.5 million deal to return to the Clippers. The second year of this new contract reportedly has a player option and is partially guaranteed. Harden was due to make $36.3 million next season, but by declining his option and agreeing to a new deal, he will receive a raise for the 2025-26 season and give the team some added flexibility.
Harden, who will return 36 in August, just wrapped up his second season with the Clippers, and averaged 22.8 points, 5.8 rebounds and 8.7 assists per game. He became just the second 35-year-old player in NBA history to record 22 points and eight assists per game, joining LeBron James. In Los Angeles, Harden has suited up for at least 72 games in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 2018-19.
After finishing the regular season as the No. 5 seed with a 50-32 record, the Clippers were eliminated by the Denver Nuggets in seven games the first round of the playoffs.
Harden, who played in 79 games, led the way for the team while Kawhi Leonard was sidelined for a significant portion of the season with a lingering knee injury. However, Harden scored just seven points in the Clippers’ Game 7 loss to the Nuggets in the latest early postseason exit of his career.
While Harden earned his first All-Star appearance since 2022 and was the most important player for L.A. this past season, he hasn’t made it past the conference semifinals since 2018 when he was a member of the Houston Rockets. He is 1-3 all-time in the Western Conference Finals, with his lone NBA Finals appearance coming in 2012 with the Oklahoma City Thunder, who lost in five games to the Miami Heat.
Still, extending Harden was the Clippers’ “No. 1 priority” this offseason, president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank told reporters earlier this week.
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