With a keen eye for dominating the Charlotte Hornets, James Harden and Kawhi Leonard delivered the bright, young squad led by LaMelo Ball their 16th-straight loss to the LA Clippers on Monday night. In the postgame interview, Harden commented on the greatness of his tandem with Leonard, and in retrospect, none of what he said was wrong.
"Two of the most skilled talents that this league has ever seen" - James Harden on him & Kawhi combining for 67 points 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/ZfhUixKLnI
— LA Clippers (@LAClippers) January 13, 2026
These comments were followed by a combined 67-point performance, with 35 from Leonard and 32 from Harden. They each had takeover spurts, and with the foot on the gas the entire contest, the Hornets tried, but could not keep up.
Harden also added ten assists with just one turnover, and Leonard’s scoring outbreak occurred through 11 makes on 19 shots.
Thus, the scoring clinic Harden and Leonard put on for the fans at the Intuit Dome extended the win streak to three and ultimately justified the former MVP's perception.
James Harden and Kawhi Leonard deserve to be credited as some of the most skilled talents ever
Skill-wise, James Harden and Kawhi Leonard can do everything on offense and place the ball through the iron in every way possible. It could be over one defender, two, or even an acrobatic shot for a chance at a three-point play, and the superstar duo will get the job done efficiently at that.
Furthermore, how many players in NBA history, in their mid-late 30s, have played at the level Harden and Leonard are at this season? To be quite frank, not many. Even the greatest show regression at some point, but the LA Clippers’ superstar duo is simultaneously breaking franchise and all-time scoring records.
In 2025-26. Harden and Leonard are still two All-Star, All-NBA talents, with their mind set on bouncing back from a historically massive, losing deficit. No one in history is doing this near the end of their careers.
The Clippers were 6-21 in the middle of December, and nearly a month later, they sit at 16-23, just two games behind the ninth seed.
Every bit of what Harden and Leonard have done takes a different type of mentality, mental strength to push through adversity, and a generationally-unique will power to want to succeed while the cookie has crumbled; the light they currently see was as dim as could be not long ago.
But, above all, it takes skill, and that is exactly what Harden highlighted after destroying the Charlotte Hornets. This separates them from every other star duo in the league, proving how the Clippers employ the best of the best.