James Harden drops 'nightmare' admission on Oracle Arena return for All-Star Game
02/15/2025 08:10 PM
Attending the NBA All-Star practice is supposed to be a fun and special occasion that brings out friendly competition and intriguing collaborations. But Saturday’s session transported Los Angeles Clippers guard and future Hall of Famer James Harden to a painful time in his professional career. He was forced to return to Oracle Arena, now named Oakland Arena, a place where he suffered several bitter defeats.
While leading the Houston Rockets in the 2010s, Harden frequently collided with Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors in the playoffs. He and his teammates never got the best of the Dubs dynasty, going 7-16 in four postseason series against the franchise from 2014-19.
Harden recalled those showdowns when addressing the media ahead of NBA All-Star Saturday Night. He praised Curry but also relived his past sorrow.
“Being in this arena gives me nightmares,” the 2018 MVP and six-time All-NBA First-Team selection said, per Warriors on NBC Sports. “Because I had to go against them, it was like a real battle. We literally created teams just to beat the Warriors. And somehow, some way, they always ended up in the Finals.”
Perhaps facing these demons will do Harden good for the rest of the 2024-25 season. His Rockets tenure is firmly in the rear-view mirror, but he can take the lessons learned from those playoff pitfalls and apply them to his present run with the Clippers. LA may not look like much of a contender at the moment– sixth place in the Western Conference with a 31-23 record– but this squad is on the precipice of becoming dangerous.
From 14-19 harden had zero teammates make all star games. Curry had 11. Was never a fair fight unfortunately.
— bIg j (@bigj1979_) February 15, 2025
Clippers might not be an easy out in the 2025 playoffs
Kawhi Leonard is back in action, All-Star snub Norman Powell and Ivica Zubac are playing their best basketball yet and James Harden is still an impactful playmaker. Head coach Tyronn Lue has the experience, and the scrappy, talented squad needed to possibly surprise people in this year’s playoffs.
Harden, who is averaging 21.5 points on 39.4 percent shooting with 8.6 assists and 5.8 rebounds per contest, might have another opportunity to add some positive postseason moments to his memory bank before he retires.
The losses versus Golden State are an inextricable part of his story, as they are for several other stars of that era, but the 35-year-old’s place in Springfield is already reserved. He left his mark on the game, even if it is not as big as he hoped it would be.
Harden will be in a less traumatic venue on Sunday, as he competes for Shaquille O’Neal’s team in the 2025 NBA All-Star Game semifinal round in the Chase Center.
The post James Harden drops ‘nightmare’ admission on Oracle Arena return for All-Star Game appeared first on ClutchPoints.
