James Harden got the hell out of Dodge (Denver) as fast as he could.
After the Clippers were bounced in a 120-101 beatdown by Nikola Jokić and the Nuggets, Harden did exactly what he did after the team’s last three losses: he bailed without saying a word. The 35-year-old, now on his fifth NBA team, once again ducked the media.
“No postgame media for James Harden again,” Joey Linn, who covers the Clippers for SI, wrote on X. “Just left the arena.”
At this point, it’s not really surprising. Players skip speaking with the media after brutal losses all the time, even when they’re contractually obligated to do so. Harden could’ve gone the Russell Westbrook route and mumbled a few non-answers, a few “I don’t know.”
Instead, he skipped town, fresh off another brutal Game 7 showing.
Saturday’s drubbing was just the latest addition to Harden’s long list of postseason flameouts.
He finished with seven points in the 19-point loss and now holds the unfortunate distinction of losing a Game 7 with four different teams. When the lights get brightest, Harden fades. It’s been a theme for years. It’s just who he is at this point. There’s no shaking it until he wins the big game.
The numbers tell the story.
This was the worst of his last five elimination games: seven points on 2-of-8 shooting (1-of-4 from beyond the arc) and 13 assists.
Fewer shots, fewer points, same result.
And sure, most fans probably don’t care whether Harden talks to the media after a loss. But that’s not the point. Postgame availability isn’t just a box to check; it’s about accountability. Fans deserve to hear from the stars when things fall apart, not just watch them disappear. That’s how this works.
You can empathize with Harden to a degree. We get it. No one wants to sit there and relive a playoff collapse. But when he leaves the arena without talking, he puts the burden on his teammates to answer for him. This is a 35-year-old veteran who’s been in the league since 2010 and played in nearly 200 playoff games.
Disappearing in big moments has become the norm for him; the least he can do is show up and own it.
About Sam Neumann
Since the beginning of 2023, Sam has been a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. A 2021 graduate of Temple University, Sam is a Charlotte native, who currently calls Greenville, South Carolina his home. He also has a love/hate relationship with the New York Mets and Jets.