Basketball: James Harden, the anchor behind the rise of the NBA’s most popular team

Since his return, the 34-year-old Leonard has turned back the clock and is playing some of the best basketball of his career, averaging 32.7 points, 6.9 boards, 3.8 assists, 2.6 steals and one block in his last 13 games.

While Leonard is expected to be selected to this year’s All-Star team, the Clippers’ start to the season has made it difficult for two players to make the roster.

However, Harden still achieved an important personal milestone during his team’s winning streak. He exceeded Shaquille O’Neal on January 12, following a 32-point performance in a win against the Charlotte Hornets to move into ninth place on the NBA’s all-time scoring list.

While the Clippers have struggled to find postseason success in recent years, this surge offers a glimmer of hope. The franchise was eliminated in the first round in both the 2024/25 and 2023/24 seasons. Their last deep run came in 2020-21, when they reached the Western Conference Finals, the closest the team came to hanging the first NBA championship banner.

Harden has embraced the magnitude of playing in his hometown of Los Angeles. When asked about it, he told ESPN, “Being home, that’s the opportunity of a lifetime for me. Just being able to hoop in front of my family, friends, people I grew up with, people who raised me. It’s a different feeling.”

Harden has certainly been an anchor of his team and helped the Clippers rewrite the early narrative from the start of this season. They will undergo one more test as the team travels to Toronto to face the Raptors on Friday, January 16 at 7:30 PM EST.