James Harden stepped out onto the court at Madison Square Garden – a familiar spot for him after playing across the river from Manhattan with the rival Brooklyn Nets.

Harden, now with the Los Angeles Clippers, played in his first game with his new team – the fifth of his career.

Just before he took to the floor for the first time as a starter, he locked eyes with a fan who was seen wearing a fake beard similar to Harden’s.

Once he got into the game, Harden showed how happy he was to be with his new team.

The former MVP distributed fancy passes for assists and knocked down his first shot as a Clipper with a step back.

A fan wore a fake beard to James Harden’s debut with the Los Angeles Clippers

However, Harden’s big night in New York ended in disappointment as he suffered defeat on his debut for the Clippers.

The former Sixers star played 31 minutes and led the Clippers with six assists. He had a good third quarter, when he set up the fast-break layup by Leonard midway through the period and hit a long 3-pointer just before the end of it, and it was tied at 76 going to the fourth. 

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Harden was traded from the Philadelphia 76ers to the Clippers just last week in a deal that involved multiple players and draft picks.

In his introductory press conference, Harden said that he envisioned retiring with the Sixers, however, he felt that the leadership of the team wasn’t interested in keeping him.

‘I mean, the front office had other plans. You know, they didn’t they didn’t want me,’ Harden said.

‘And it’s that simple, so – and it’s more detailed, more, you know, to where I can’t talk about. 

Harden was playing his first game with the California-based team after trade from Philadelphia

‘But there’s a lot of narratives, and I don’t have social media, but there’s a lot of narratives, and people talking, people think they have an opinion or voice, and other people listen to it. But none of that is true. 

‘I’m not the type to go back and forth or be explaining myself, because you’re always going to take something out of what I say and make it into a different story. 

‘So, long story short, I’m happy I’m here. I’m excited to be able to show how good individually and how good this team can be. And it’s going to be.’