James Harden is one of the best players in the league, widely considered a guard that is capable of distributing the ball and scoring. He had a productive time with the Philadelphia 76ers thus far, averaging 21.0 PPG, 7.1 RPG, and 10.5 APG during the regular season after getting traded to the team.
Even though he has moved more towards a playmaking-heavy play style, there is no doubt that James Harden is still an All-Star caliber player. Though he is no longer that offensive engine that we saw during his time with the Houston Rockets, it is clear that he still provides a lot of value for the 76ers.
Daryl Morey Knows What James Harden’s Addition Means For The 76ers
Daryl Morey is someone who knows just how much James Harden has helped the Philadelphia 76ers improve. He has gushed about his impact on the team, lauding Harden for taking less money to help the team fill out the roster and praising him for elevating his teammates. Noah Levick of NBC Sports relayed the news.
“James, he’s a little later in his career than Joel (Embiid), so I would say as you get farther along you realize each year is precious, each season is even more precious. He’s done more, I think, than maybe any star player’s ever done to take that much less money. We just got Montrezl Harrell. We couldn’t have done that without both him taking less money and constantly talking to Trez and saying, ‘Hey, let’s rekindle the magic we had in the past.’
“Look, between the money he gave up and his commitment to the franchise from Day 1 to do what (head coach Doc Rivers) wants … I’m someone who looks at data quite a bit. All the players on the team’s shooting percentages went way up off passes from him. Our team overall was elevated after he came. Joel and James were the No. 1 pick-and-roll combo — really (in) years; it wasn’t just last season. It just shows the overall impact and how he’s lifting the whole team to help us win a title.”
James Harden has won almost every single individual award possible in the NBA, and the goal for him now is to chase that championship that has eluded him thus far. He will have a chance to do that with the 76ers next season.
Hopefully, we do see James Harden get a ring before he retires. He is an elite player that has almost gotten underrated in recent memory, and a championship win would greatly improve his legacy.
