May 1, 2025; Inglewood, California, USA; NBA on TNT reporter Lauren Jbara (right) interviews LA Clippers guard James Harden (1) after game six of first round for the 2025 NBA Playoffs against the Denver Nuggets at Intuit Dome. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

11x NBA All-Star James Harden Receives Cruel Prediction

Originally posted on Los Angeles Clippers on SI
By Will Despart | Last updated Aug 23, 2025 11:50 PM ET

James Harden's 22.8 points per game last season may have been his highest scoring average since the 2020-21 season, but one publication is predicting that we've seen the best out of the 35-year-old 11-time NBA All-Star.

Harden is entering his third season with the Los Angeles Clippers in a few months, and it's been a mostly successful partnership between franchise and player, given Harden's performance for the team at this stage in his career. Despite this, it's clear that confidence is waning in the former MVP among some members of the media.

James Harden once again scored the most points per game in isolation this past season.

He's now lead the league in 8 of the last 10 seasons, including the top 6 seasons. pic.twitter.com/S22aKkyYjZ
— Automatic (@automaticnba) August 17, 2025

In an article for Bleacher Report detailing the NBA players that are most likely to rise and fall in the upcoming 2025-26 season, NBA writer Grant Hughes predicted that Harden is the Clippers' most likely player to take a step back next season.

"The former MVP returned to the All-Star Game for the first time since 2021-22 last year and made his first All-NBA team since 2020, but those honors came with a 41.0 field-goal percentage and a skyrocketing turnover rate—to say nothing of his increasingly immobile defense," Hughes wrote.

Harden's Recent History

Harden helped push the Clippers to a 50-32 record and the No. 5 seed in the Western Conference last season. Harden's postseason scoring average was actually down to 18.7 points per game from 21.2 points per game in 2023-24; however, his regression served as one of the many reasons why the Clippers fell in six games to the Nikola Jokic-driven Denver Nuggets team.

James Harden ISO scoring ‘24-25 pic.twitter.com/lKC7YZdwE5
— Brett Usher (@UsherNBA) March 15, 2025

Harden's game has been relatively consistent since he and the Houston Rockets parted ways during the 2020-21 season, but he never quite hit the heights he reached toward the end of his stint with Houston. Harden's scoring average suffered a steep drop after he averaged 34.3 points per game during the 2019-20 season, and he hasn't averaged 25+ points per game in a season since.

The Clippers are set to open the season on the road against the Utah Jazz on Oct. 22. Their home opener is scheduled for Oct. 24th against the Phoenix Suns, while their Oct. 28 matchup with the Golden State Warriors will be the team's first national TV broadcast of the season, airing on NBC and streaming on Peacock.

This article first appeared on Los Angeles Clippers on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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