James Harden last played for the Philadelphia 76ers, and all signs point to him returning to the franchise. While he was once a fantastic isolation scorer with the Houston Rockets, he has slowly shifted towards more of a “pass-first” play style during his time with the Brooklyn Nets and the Philadelphia 76ers.
The Houston Rockets didn’t win a championship during James Harden’s tenure. Kobe Bryant once remarkably stated that James Harden’s isolation-heavy style wouldn’t ever win a championship, but noted that James Harden had to take on a high-volume role to win games and keep the Houston Rockets afloat.
I’m not a fan of it in terms of winning championships. I don’t think that style is ever gonna win a championship. But at the same time you have to keep your team’s head above water to win games… He’s doing that. Not with this style of play, it won’t win. With one player dominating the ball… now when you have Chris Paul come back, and you have more movement to the offense, when you move guys around, you’re harder to guard… If you take one player you put them at the top of the key or you put them on the wing, and you’re running screen and rolls, you’re always in front of the defense. The defense can key on that, particularly in the playoffs. That’s easy to defend.
Kobe Bryant was proven right on this take. James Harden is no longer that ball-dominant high-volume scorer though, so perhaps he’ll have better luck winning with his more recent playmaking-heavy style.
The Philadelphia 76ers will certainly be among the championship contenders next season, with some analysts believing that their 2022-23 squad is the best team they’ve had since Jimmy Butler was last on the team. Hopefully, their offseason acquisitions pay off, and perhaps we’ll see the Philadelphia 76ers get to the Finals for the first time in the Joel Embiid era.
