Los Angeles Clippers star James Harden seems to think highly of his flirting capabilities, but his girlfriend Paije Speights disagrees. Harden and Speights spoke about when they first crossed paths on the second season of Netflix’s “Starting Five,” and she hilariously made it clear that he has no game.
Paije Speights: “When did we meet? Probably around this time last [year]. We’ve only been together for a year.”
James Harden: “I’ve seen her a couple of times. And looking at her Instagram, and I asked one of my homegirls, ‘Give me the number.'”
Speights: “He called my phone five times at eight o’clock in the morning. I didn’t even know he had my number. I didn’t know who gave him my number. I didn’t know what was going on.”
Harden: “She don’t know who I am, what’s going on, none of that.”
Speights: “So then he FaceTimes me.”
Harden: “She’s so weird, she answered the FaceTime. Weird.”
Speights: “… He was like, ‘You look so nice at eight o’clock in the morning. No wig.’ I was like, ‘How did you get my number?'”
Harden: “We talked for an hour and a half. The first time. I got game. I know how to put words together to where it makes sense. So, you’re like stunned.”
Speights: “James does not have any game at all.”
“James got no game.” 💀
James Harden and his girlfriend Paije Speights talking about how they met got us so weak 😭
Starting 5 Season 2 is now playing only on Netflix! pic.twitter.com/VMUkZHlAtX
— Netflix Sports (@netflixsports) October 24, 2025
Those were some aggressive tactics employed by Harden there. They might not work for you, especially if you don’t have any game either.
While things could have potentially gone wrong, they didn’t. Harden and Speights have been together for quite some time now, and they’ll be welcoming a son soon. The 11-time All-Star also revealed during the series that he has a six-year-old son named Jace from a previous relationship. He had managed to hide that fact from the world for a surprisingly long period of time.
Harden seems to have decided to open up more now, and it’s great that he feels comfortable doing so. The 36-year-old also admitted he loves Speights and spoke about the viral “wedding bouquet” moment from when they attended Rajon Rondo’s wedding in 2024. We might see these two tie the knot, too, not long into the future.
While Speights has given Harden plenty of reasons to smile about, he would have been disappointed with how the Clippers’ 2025-26 season started. They were supposed to dispatch the Utah Jazz with ease in their season opener, but got blown out 129-108 on Wednesday. The final score flattered them, as the Jazz led by as many as 37 points.
Harden had 15 points (5-12 FG), two rebounds, and 11 assists against the Jazz. It wasn’t his greatest performance, and he’ll be looking to play better moving forward. Harden and the Clippers are in action next against the Phoenix Suns at the Intuit Dome on Friday at 10:30 PM ET.
