Clippers' James Harden injury update after foot injury vs. Thunder

03/24/2025 03:44 PM

The Los Angeles Clippers dropped the final game of their four-game homestand against the Oklahoma City Thunder, but the bigger concern lies in the right foot of James Harden.

The Clippers guard suffered an apparent sprained foot in the third quarter of the Clippers’ loss on Sunday night. Harden was able to finish the game, but there was a legitimate concern for Harden’s foot postgame.

James Harden injury update after injuries vs. Thunder

James Harden suffered the injury early in the third quarter while getting around defender Luguentz Dort, who was attempting to get over a screen by Ivica Zubac. While trying to get around Zubac, Dort’s left knee collided with Harden’s left thigh, knocking him off balance and in some discomfort. Harden hopped on his right foot once and ended up rolling his right foot on the second hop following the collision.

The Clippers point guard went down immediately and stayed down for about 40 seconds as the Thunder collected the turnover and pushed in transition. After securing a rebound, Tyronn Lue called a timeout as Kawhi Leonard dribbled up-court to allow their star guard ample time to return to the bench.

“I rolled my foot,” James Harden told members of the media of his injury. “I got bumped. I got kneed in the thigh and I was hopping and I rolled my foot. It's in the middle of my foot.”

When asked for clarification about the thigh injury or the ankle injury, Harden responded, “It’s a foot roll.”

There was some initial confusion about what Harden was dealing with given he took both a hit to the thigh and rolled his foot, but James Harden was able to finish the game. He finished with 17 points, five rebounds, and eight assists in 35 minutes of play.

Head coach Tyronn Lue wasn’t sure where exactly Harden was hit, but knew it was something that could be concerning.

“I know he got hit in the hip and then when he fell, he sprained his ankle a little bit,” Lue explained. “So, that was a reason why he couldn't really attack at the end of the game. Hopefully he's okay, but we'll see.”

Harden was seen limping throughout the Clippers locker room after the loss, and his status for the Clippers’ upcoming four-game trip starting Tuesday is most certainly up in the air. With a day off on Monday and a travel day Tuesday, Harden’s status will likely be updated going into Wednesday’s game against the New York Knicks.

Despite the loss, the Clippers have won eight of their last 10 games, including wins over the Detroit Pistons, New York Knicks, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Memphis Grizzlies.

Harden had been on a tear over the previous nine games, averaging 29.2 points, 6.0 rebounds, 9.2 assists, and 1.3 steals.

While Harden continues to carry the Clippers’ offensive workload, Kawhi Leonard has slowly stepped into a much larger role than at the start of the season. Since the All-Star break, Leonard is averaging 24 points, 6.8 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and 2.0 steals while shooting 50.2 percent from the field and 42.1 percent from three.

If James Harden ends up needing to miss any time at all due to the foot injury, Leonard, Ivica Zubac, Norman Powell, and Bogan Bogdanovic are among those who will most certainly have step up on the offensive side of the floor to make up for his absence.

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