Harden has a player option for 2025-26 at $36.3 million for the season. He can play out the final year of the contract or become a free agent in the summer. He still logged significant minutes (35.3 per game) and continued to produce. A strong run during the postseason reaffirmed his status as a capable scorer.

A whirlwind NBA draft and the week leading up to it are done. And before the 2025 free-agency period has even started, the landscape of the league has already shifted dramatically from where it was in 2024-25.

The NBA draft resumes Thursday night with the Minnesota Timberwolves making the first selection of the second round. The draft picks up where it left off at Barclays Center in Brooklyn — though in a much smaller portion of it than was used Wednesday for the first round .