James Harden didn’t have a fun time in Game 7.
There were several items to sort through in the wreckage that was the Los Angeles Clippers’ season-ending loss to the Denver Nuggets on Saturday, but the one that drew the most attention was the former MVP who declared “I am not a system player, I am a system” upon joining his current team.
Harden’s career has been defined by historic scoring efficiency in the regular season and ice-cold shooting the second he hits the postseason. He was actually pretty good for the Clippers this season, until the narrative that has plagued his career returned for this series.
So maybe it shouldn’t be a surprise that Harden declined to speak with the media after the game, which he also did in the Clippers’ previous two losses.
Harden finished the game with seven points on 2-of-8 shooting, plus 13 assists, five rebounds, two steals and two turnovers. He now holds a 3-4 career record in Game 7s, with each of his losses to a different team. His last win came in the bubble with the Houston Rockets in 2020.
In those seven Game 7s, Harden has averaged 19.3 points, 7.9 assists, 5.7 rebounds and 4.0 turnovers per game, while shooting 35.5% from the field and 22.4% from 3-point range.
Another early end to the Clippers season will mean questions about Harden’s future with the team. He holds a $36.3 million player option for next season, so he could either leave the team for free agency, return on a full walk year or hammer out an extension with the team, assuming it wants him for the long term.
