The Los Angeles Clippers have been one of the best teams in the NBA recently, winning 14 of their last 17 games to improve to 46-32 on the season and are just 1.5 games behind the third-place Los Angeles Lakers.
The Clippers have been led by the resurgence of star duo Kawhi Leonard and James Harden, who are re-inventing their games to bring LA into title contention.
During their hot 17-game stretch, Leonard is averaging 25.1 points, 6.9 rebounds, 3.4 assists, and 2.0 steals with 53.4/44.0/82.8 shooting splits, while Harden is averaging 25.5 points, 5.2 rebounds, 8.5 assists, and 1.4 steals with 45.4/37.8/86.2 splits.
Leonard, 33, and Harden, 35, have proven that when healthy and at their best, they are one of the top duos in the NBA. While their on-court performances have been phenomenal, Harden revealed what their actual relationship is like in and outside of basketball.
“It’s real. It’s just real,” Harden said about his relationship with Leonard. “We don’t sugarcoat nothing. On the court if he sees something he’ll tell it to me. If I see something I’ll tell it to him. And we move on. We’re professionals, we’re grown.
“This is my second year, we’ve built a really good relationship. We hangout off the court. We know each other. Our communication is fluent. We say how we feel and we move on.”
James Harden on he and Kawhi Leonard being able to go at each other when needed:
“It’s real. It’s just real. We don’t sugarcoat nothing. On the court if he sees something he’ll tell it to me. If I see something I’ll tell it to him. And we move on. We’re professionals, we’re… pic.twitter.com/KgxvWSllyM
— Joey Linn (@joeylinn_) April 6, 2025
The aging stars certainly do not have much more time left in the league to go out and win a championship together, but their common goal likely strengthens their relationship. The Clippers have built their recent success around the strong play of Harden and Leonard, and it continues to pay off.
