James Harden chats with his son Jace at Harden’s Houston home during filming of Netflix’s “Starting 5,” which was released Oct. 16, 2025.
Courtesy photo/Netflix
Ever since James Harden was in a very public, if short-lived, relationship with Khloe Kardashian nearly a decade ago, the former Houston Rockets star has kept his private life a mystery aside from generic tales of him enjoying the nightlife.
He was much more revealing on the new season of Netflix’s “Starting 5,” which released all eight episodes Thursday as it followed around Harden, Kevin Durant, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Tyrese Haliburton and Jaylen Brown last NBA season.
In the third episode, Harden, on a trip back to Houston as his Los Angeles Clippers were playing the Rockets, revealed he has a son Jace, who was 6 years old at the time of filming.
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“Jace means the world,” Harden said from the home in Houston he still keeps despite being traded away in 2021. “I think everybody who has children understands the difference of love you have for someone that you created. It’s a joy. It’s, you know, your little mini-me. And, for me, just not even being selfish, but just something that you created, something that you wanna mold and be better than you is a different kind of love.”
The episode even addressed the fact that the outside world didn’t know about Harden’s son.
“You know, James is super private,” said Troy Payne, Harden’s agent. “People are gonna be like, ‘What? ‘ They’re gonna be shocked, but yeah, he’s a dad.
“James has always been here for his son and he’s always been a really good dad to him.”
Harden also opened up about his girlfriend Paije Speights, who he’s been dating for a couple years and who has a son the same age as Jace. On the show, Harden, Speights and the two boys flew back to Los Angeles from Houston on a private jet after the game against the Rockets.
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“At 23, 24, I’m like, ‘Man, I don’t want no girl that’s got a kid. Like, you feel me? That’s out.’ I’m 35 now. That mindset changed,” Harden said. “Then you find somebody that kind of is on your vibe. Understanding she’s kind of going through the same thing you’re going through in the sense of relationships and all that so it makes sense.”
At the end of the season, Harden and Speights revealed that Speights is pregnant and they’re expecting a boy.
The show doesn’t get into too many details about Harden’s son, but he made it clear they’re close.
“My dad not really being around, I think puts a little bit more fire into me, in the sense of, like, I want to mold him and be in his life,” Harden said. “I would want him to be with me all the time, living with me and all that. So, I kind of plan my schedule being around Jace as he gets older.”
Even with Harden’s private nature, his romantic relationship had been public, but he opened up more about the woman he calls “my best friend,” including how they met with Harden asking a friend for her number and calling her repeatedly until she finally picked up a FaceTime call.
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“She’s so weird, she answered the FaceTime,” Harden joked. “That’s weird.”
“I love her a lot though I’m in love, I’m in love,” Harden says later before staring into the camera and perhaps realizing how much the show was getting him to reveal. “I don’t even know why I signed up for this.”
