The 2025-26 NBA season has not been kind to James Harden and the Los Angeles Clippers. The team has a 5-15 record and is the second-worst team in the Western Conference. The Clippers have gone 2-8 in their last 10 games and are currently on a four-game losing streak. Fans are frustrated with the team’s performance and demand better results after the first 20 games.
Harden has carried the team for most of the season, averaging 27.7 points, 5.9 rebounds and 8.7 assists through 19 games. His co-star, Kawhi Leonard, has appeared in 10 games, trying his best to contribute. Leonard is averaging 25.4 ppg, 5.3 rpg and 2.9 apg.
The Clippers are coming off a 114-110 loss against the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday. Following the loss, Harden’s frustration with the team’s struggles was evident in his comments to the media.
“Challenging,” the Clippers star said.
James Harden was asked by a reporter what ways the Clippers have been challenged. The veteran star summarized his answer and told the media that the team has had struggles in every way.
Asked James Harden of challenge of getting players who weren't supposed to be as involved when team was in training camp more involved offensively pic.twitter.com/c27MQe4DoY
— Law Murray ⛲️ (@LawMurrayTheNU) November 30, 2025
“Situation here is difficult,” he continued. “We’re not making shots offensively. Defensively, the game plan mistakes we allow to happen too many times. That’s one of the reasons why we lose games.”
“We’ve tried a lot of different things. We’ll keep trying. There’s no next step right now,” Lue said.
James Harden still believes the Clippers can turn this around
Before the Clippers faced the Mavericks last week, James Harden displayed optimism that the team could turn things around. Harden is still optimistic that the club will get through this difficult period, even though its confidence has begun to decline.
“What else are we going to do?” Harden said. “Confidence comes every day when we wake up, right?
“We got a lot of games left where we can hit a stride, but we’ve dealt with literally everything you can do from injuries to different lineup changes. We’re figuring it out.”
Harden has stepped up for the Clippers. However, it hasn’t been impactful for the team, as they continue to struggle.
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Reign also writes NBA and WNBA news updates on Sportskeeda. He started as a feature writer for AirAlamo, an NBA website that covers the San Antonio Spurs. Some of his work can also be seen on Valley of the Suns, a Phoenix Suns-centric website, where he served as a contributing writer.
