"This arena gives me nightmares" - James Harden shares honest feelings on his return to Warriors' arena for NBA All-Star Weekend

If James Harden ever had a peak period, it would be the late 2010s when he was constantly in the MVP conversation. This crescendo, however, coincided with the sheer dominance of the Golden State Warriors, who were making consecutive trips to the NBA Finals.

The Warriors's supremacy, which came at the expense of the Harden-led Houston Rockets, still weighed on the mind of 'The Beard' when he arrived at the Bay Area for the 2025 All-Star Weekend. After the All-Star Practice on Saturday inside Oakland Arena, James Harden looked back at his not-so-fand memories in that very location:

"Being inside this arena gives me nightmares," Harden told reporters. "Because I had to go against [the Warriors]. It was a real battle."

Indeed, Harden had his fair share of heartbreaking losses at Golden State's home in the previous decade. In 2015 and 2016, the Warriors — bannered by the trio of Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green — ended the Rockets' postseason inside Oakland Arena (then known as Oracle Arena).

In 2018, Houston were one win away from sending the Warriors packing in their Western Conference Finals duel. This was James Harden's best chance to finally one-up the Dubs — who had added Kevin Durant to their ranks — but a Game 6 loss in Oracle Arena would lead to a Game 7 defeat in Houston.

Even as he admitted the psychological impact of the venue he was revisiting, Harden paid tribute to those Warriors of yesteryear:

"We literally created teams just to beat the Warriors," said Harden. "Somehow, someway, they always ended up in the Finals."

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James Harden to Clippers HC during hard-fought win over Utah Jazz: "Don't take me out of the game"

On Thursday, however, James Harden gave opponents nightmares with his endurance and prolific scoring.

That night, the LA Clippers went into overtime against the Utah Jazz and prevailed 120-116. Among all players who saw action on the floor, Harden logged the longest playing time at 49 minutes.

After the game, 'The Beard' revealed that he flat-out refused to sit on the bench for a good reason:

"I told [Clippers head coach] Ty Lue, don't take me out of the game. This is a must-win for us, because we need to go into this break with some swagger," Harden said. [Timestamp - 0:55]

Thanks mainly to Harden's resolve, the Clippers entered the All-Star break on a three-game winning streak.