Clippers' James Harden makes his 11th All-Star team
01/30/2025 07:17 PM
James Harden didn't need a campaign to state his case. He didn't need sports pundits to plead as to why he belongs on the NBA All-Star roster. His ré sumé was convincing enough.
Harden earned his 11th nod to the NBA All-Star Game on Thursday as a Western Conference reserve, as selected by the league coaches. The game will be played Feb. 15 at Oracle Arena in San Francisco.
Harden joins Anthony Edwards (Minnesota Timberwolves), Anthony Davis (Lakers), Jaren Jackson Jr. (Memphis Grizzlies), Alperen Şengün (Houston Rockets), Jalen Williams (Oklahoma City Thunder) and Victor Wembanyama (San Antonio Spurs) as the Western Conference reserves.
Clippers guard Norman Powell, who was seeking his first All-Star selection, was left off the list.
The Eastern Conference reserves are Jaylen Brown (Boston Celtics), Pascal Siakam (Indianapolis Pacers), Darius Garland and Evan Mobley (Cleveland Cavaliers), Cade Cunningham (Detroit Pistons), Damian Lillard (Milwaukee Bucks) and Tyler Herro (Miami Heat).
"It means a lot," Harden said last week. "Just the work that I've put in individually and as a team. The accomplishments and my numbers are good enough. I've been on the other side where I led the league in assists and didn't make it. So, it would be an honor to me. I would love to be a part of the team."
Even at age 35, Harden is proving he's not ready to call it a career. Through 44 games, he is averaging 21.7 points, 5.8 rebounds, 8.4 assists and 1.5 steals per game.
He reached another milestone Wednesday, passing Rod Strickland for No. 13 on the all-time assists list with 11 assists in a 128-116 victory against the San Antonio Spurs.
He recently joined the elite company of Wilt Chamberlain, Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan as the only players in NBA history to score 40 or more points 100 times. He dropped 40 points in a victory over the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday for his 103rd 40+game.
"James is one of the smartest players I've ever coached," said Bucks coach Doc Rivers, who coached Harden in Philadelphia.
Harden, though, said his accomplishments aren't a big deal, a list that includes Sixth Man of the Year (2012), NBA Most Valuable Player (2018), three-time scoring champion (2018-20) and two-time assists leader (2017, 2023).
"I just go out there and put the work in and it is what it is," Harden said.
Powell, left off the initial All-Star reserves list despite averaging a team-high 24.0 points per game on 49.4% shooting, said what Harden does with a basketball is just shy of magical for the Clippers (27-20), who currently are sixth in the Western Conference.
"He's a guy that makes a lot of stuff happen with the ball, making plays," Powell said. "And the way teams guard us with him on the floor, with either me or him out, it gets a little difficult. But him, he's such a ball-dominant guy that can get even better.
"We need him. What he sees on the floor, and I thought he had great leadership off the floor. He was talking to the guys, what he sees, how we can be better tonight."
