James Harden: Career Stats, Trade Status & Personal Life

Following James Harden means tracking two things at once: the team on his jersey and the trade chatter around it. He has changed teams three times since January 2021 — Brooklyn, Philadelphia, and Los Angeles — yet his career scoring average sits at 24.1 points per game, per Basketball-Reference (NBA statistics database).

Current team: LA Clippers · Position: Shooting guard / Point guard · MVP season: 2017–18 · Career PPG: 24.1 per Basketball-Reference · Draft year: 2009, 3rd overall

A quick biographical pass: Harden was born in Los Angeles in 1989, came out of Arizona State, and has been an NBA fixture since 2009.

What are James Harden’s stats for the Oklahoma City Thunder?

Harden’s Oklahoma City years explain the rest of his career: three seasons as a bench weapon, one Sixth Man award, and a trade that made him a franchise player.

Regular season stats with OKC (2009–2012)

• Drafted 3rd overall in 2009 out of Arizona State (Basketball-Reference (NBA statistics database))
• 226 regular-season games with averages of 12.7 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 2.5 assists per game (Basketball-Reference (NBA statistics database))
• Sixth Man of the Year in 2011–12 (ESPN (sports media outlet))

He came off the bench for most of that stretch, and the 2011–12 award made him the highest-profile reserve in the league.

Playoff performance during Thunder years

• 2012 playoffs: 16.3 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 3.4 assists per game (Basketball-Reference (NBA statistics database))
• Part of the Thunder rotation that reached the 2012 NBA Finals

The Oklahoma City stretch ended the way it began: suddenly. A 2012 trade sent him to Houston, and his 16.3-point playoff average became the last image of him in that uniform.

The implication: Harden was already a star in a bench role; the trade just gave him a stage where everyone could see it.

Why is James Harden leaving the Clippers?

The short answer: he hasn’t left yet. The longer answer is that every stop since Houston has ended with the same question — where does he play next?

Trade rumors and contract disputes

• Requested a trade from the Philadelphia 76ers in the summer of 2023 (NBC Sports (sports network))
• Dealt to the Clippers in October 2023 in a multi-player package (NBC Sports (sports network))
• 2024 reporting pointed to frustration with his role and coaching decisions (NBC Sports (sports network))
• Holds a player option for 2025–26 (NBC Sports (sports network))

The trade that brought him to Los Angeles came after a summer of trade demands. Per a trade report attributed to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and carried by NBC Sports (sports network), the Clippers sent Marcus Morris, Nicolas Batum, Robert Covington, KJ Martin, a 2028 unprotected first-round pick, two second-round picks, and a pick swap to Philadelphia for Harden, Filip Petrusev, and P.J. Tucker.

The trade-off: Harden is still productive enough to anchor a playoff offense, but he wants a commitment the Clippers haven’t shown they’re ready to make.

The pattern: every trade demand since Houston has centered on a desire for more control — Harden wants to choose his next stop, not just be moved.

Fit with Clippers roster and front office decisions

• 72 starts in 2023–24 (NBA.com (official league site))
• 16.6 points, 8.5 assists, and 5.1 rebounds per game (NBA.com (official league site))
• Re-signed with Los Angeles in 2024 free agency (NBA.com (official league site))

The Clippers rebuilt their roster around his playmaking, and the front office kept him on the books after the 2024 free-agency period. The uncertainty sits in what happens next season, not this one.

What is James Harden’s status today?

Harden entered the 2024–25 season healthy and active. The uncertainty is about the roster page, not the injury report.

Current injury or health update (as of writing)

• No injury reported during the 2024–25 preseason
• Listed as day-to-day by Clippers medical staff
• Active for the start of the regular season

The most recent verified regular-season stat line in the research record: 25 points, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists in a Clippers loss to Oklahoma City, per NBA.com (official league site)’s player page.

Latest game performance and minutes

• Preseason, October 8, 2024: 13 points and 2 assists in 27 minutes against Orlando

That game mattered less for the stat line than for the fact that he played at all. After a summer of trade buzz, a quiet preseason was the best outcome the Clippers could have asked for.

Why this matters: Harden hasn’t lost a step, and he hasn’t been traded — but the conflicting listings are a reminder that this story can shift in one news cycle.

Did James Harden have a dad?

Yes — and the answer comes with a family story that shaped his upbringing.

James Harden Sr. – background and relationship

• Father: James Harden Sr., a U.S. Navy veteran
• History of legal issues that kept him largely absent
• Parents divorced when Harden was young

Biographical profiles assembled across Harden’s career are consistent on the key point: his father’s legal troubles limited his presence, leaving his mother, Monja Willis, as the central parent.

Harden’s family upbringing

• Raised primarily by his mother, Monja Willis
• James Harden Sr. died in 2021 after a lengthy illness

The “dad” question fans ask usually circles back to the same biographical fact — Harden credits his mother’s steadying role for much of his drive, and he lost his father in 2021.

The implication: the relationship with his father stayed distant, but the loss still closed a chapter Harden has referenced in interviews.

Did James Harden date a Kardashian?

Relationship with Khloé Kardashian (2015–2016)

• Dated Khloé Kardashian for about a year starting in summer 2015
• Relationship ended in early 2016
• Harden averaged 29.0 points per game in the 2015–16 season (Basketball-Reference (NBA statistics database))

The timing is documented in celebrity and sports coverage from that season. For Harden, what matters is that the relationship overlapped with one of the best scoring years of his career.

Impact on his Houston Rockets performance

• Media speculation at the time suggested the relationship was a distraction
• The 2015–16 stat line — 29.0 per game — undercuts that narrative

Harden’s Houston teams kept winning, and his individual numbers kept climbing. The Kardashian rumor had more heat than the production did.

The pattern: a tabloid storyline ran for a season, then faded; the scoring numbers were still on the board after it ended.

Which NBA player has 14 children?

This question circulates on search engines and social media, and the honest answer is: no NBA player is widely confirmed to have 14 biological children.

Shaun Livingston? Or other notable players?

• No reliable source confirms 14 children for any current or former NBA player
• Players with larger publicly known families include Dwyane Wade (5), Karl Malone (7+), and Shaquille O’Neal (4)

The “14 kids” figure appears to be an unverified rumor with no named player attached to it in credible records.

Clarification on paternity claims

• Viral family-size claims usually surface on social media without primary documentation
• Verified family sizes for NBA stars are much smaller than the viral numbers suggest

The responsible answer to “which player?” is: none that public records support.

The implication: a rumor without a name attached is usually a rumor without a source attached.

Which NBA player has autism?

Same pattern, same honest answer: no current or former NBA player has publicly disclosed an autism diagnosis in the records compiled for this article.

Anonymous or known cases?

• No player is on record with a public autism diagnosis
• Search records show no verifiable case as of 2024

That absence doesn’t mean no player has ever been on the spectrum; it means no player has chosen to disclose it publicly.

NBA and neurodiversity

• The most visible autism-related discussions in basketball have centered on coaches and staff, not active players
• A diagnosis is personal medical information; the absence of one should not be read as a statement

For fans asking “which NBA player has autism?,” the correct response is to avoid naming a player based on rumor.

Career stats: what the record shows

Three stat-keeping sources, one pattern: Harden’s career averages barely move, even across every uniform he has worn.

One caution: ESPN’s displayed career table includes future-season metadata that doesn’t match the current calendar, so treat its 1,221-game total as a display quirk, not a verified count.

The takeaway: across sources, Harden’s career line keeps him in the Hall of Fame conversation — which is exactly why the off-court drama keeps getting tolerated.

Timeline: how Harden got here

From bench star in Oklahoma City to headline trade after headline trade, here are the stops in order.

• 2009–2012 — Oklahoma City Thunder: drafted 3rd overall; Sixth Man of the Year in 2012 (Basketball-Reference (NBA statistics database))
• 2012–2021 — Houston Rockets: NBA MVP in 2018; scoring titles 2018–2020 (ESPN (sports media outlet))
• January 2021 — Brooklyn Nets: traded from Houston
• February 2022 — Philadelphia 76ers: traded from Brooklyn
• October 2023 — LA Clippers: traded from Philadelphia in a multi-player deal (NBC Sports (sports network))
• 2024 — Re-signed with LA: active for the 2024–25 season (NBA.com (official league site))

The pattern: every move since Houston arrived one season before a contract decision — which is why the 2025–26 option looms so large.

What’s confirmed vs. what’s unclear

Verified career data holds up; the roster questions do not yet have clean answers.

What this means: the verified record is stable; the roster question is the only one that can move fast.

What the sources say

Three sourced statements frame the situation.

“The Clippers acquired James Harden, along with Filip Petrusev and P.J. Tucker, in exchange for Marcus Morris, Nicolas Batum, Robert Covington, KJ Martin, a 2028 unprotected first-round pick, two second-round picks, and a pick swap.”

Trade report attributed to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, via NBC Sports (sports network)

“Harden started 72 games for the Clippers in 2023–24, averaging 16.6 points, 8.5 assists, and 5.1 rebounds per game.”

NBA.com (official league site), player bio

“Across his NBA career, Harden has shot 43.9% from the field, 36.3% from three-point range, and 86.1% from the free-throw line.”

Basketball-Reference (NBA statistics database), career page

What this means: the sources agree on what Harden has done; they just can’t agree on where he’s going.

The takeaway

Harden is still producing numbers that would make most teams pay him for a decade. But he has now been traded three times since January 2021, and the Clippers are the test case for whether a settled Harden is still the best Harden. The sources split on where this ends: NBA.com has him in Los Angeles, one ESPN bio page has him in Cleveland from 2025, and the 2025–26 player option means he holds real leverage either way. For Clippers fans, the question isn’t whether he can still play — the 25-point game against Oklahoma City settles that — but whether he finishes the 2024–25 season in a Clippers jersey or pushes for another move before the trade deadline.

Related reading: James Harden trade history · James Harden career statistics

Frequently asked questions

Related reading: James Harden trade history · James Harden career statistics