James Harden happy to be in Philadelphia
James Harden may be one of the most divisive figures across the entire NBA. The 33-year-old has had a storied career that includes being the NBA scoring champion for three consecutive seasons (2018-2020), NBA assist leader (2017) and the NBA MVP (2018). He is also a 10-time All-Star and a six-time All-NBA First Team player. However, he has yet to win the most prestigious trophy the league has to offer – the Larry O’Brien NBA Championship Trophy.
Originally drafted with the third overall pick in the 2009 NBA Draft by the Oklahoma City Thunder, Harden would spend three seasons with the club before being traded to the Houston Rockets where he would play for eight and a half years. He was eventually traded to the Brooklyn Nets, where big things were expected alongside superstars Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving. Unfortunately, things never worked out the way they were planned, and Harden would be off to a new team again.
“I don’t mean to, like, just down talk to anybody or whatever. It was just, there was no structure and even superstars, they need structure. That’s what allows us to be the best players and leaders for our respective organizations,” Harden said when asked about his time with the Nets, via Fox Sports.
“I just feel like,” Harden continued, “internally, things weren’t what I expected when I was trying to get traded there. I think everybody knows that. And I knew people were going to talk and say, ‘You quit’ and all that stuff, but then the following summer, the other superstar there [Durant] wanted to leave. So it’s like: Am I still the quitter?”
James couldn’t have been happier to be traded away from the Nets to the 76ers, but does it admit it took him some time to adjust to his new team’s playing style.
“I’m getting traded to a situation where you got a guy in Joel Embiid, who in my opinion should have been the MVP and everything was geared toward Joel, everything was Joel, Joel, Joel,” Harden continued. “Which I get, that’s how they were playing the entire year, and so I was trying to fit in. It was never, like, ‘Here, you’re James Harden, this is how we want you to run the show.’ That’s the kind of role I was playing.”
However, he and Joel Embiid have become good friends since Harden’s move to Philadelphia and Embiid couldn’t be happier to have the star playing alongside Harden.
“Since he’s been here, he’s bought into everything we’ve asked of him … He’s such a good playmaker, you’ve got to put the ball in his hands … He’s so freakin’ good…” But he also made his preferences clear.
It remains to be seen whether the 76ers will be able to win an NBA Championship with the two of them in the lineup, but at least they are having fun in the process.
“The moment I stop having fun with it,” Harden recently posted on his Instagram account. “I’ll be done with it.”
