James Harden

SI:AM | Has James Harden's Philly Debut Unlocked a New Star? Plus, an exclusive interview with Penn swimmer Lia Thomas. Author: Dan Gartland.

No word on whether he got a real knee brace in time for the hockey game. Years later, a quarterback whose real name was the same as the older player’s fake name went on to have success in the NFL. Can you name both players? It was the remote-controlled cameras that required the most creativity to operate. Instead, they captured footage of the brawl. … Jonathan Wilson examines the impact that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has had on the Premier League. “I’m a woman, just like anybody else on the team. In that second half, he played like we all need him to play and he knows how to play.” Harden had 26 points, nine rebounds and nine assists in Philly’s easy win over the Knicks. ( Watch his highlight reel here.) The numbers aren’t eye-popping, but his performance was exactly what the Sixers need from him if they’re going to be a real title contender. “We need him to be aggressive, like, a lot of times in the game,” Harden said of Maxey last night. He looked like a cohesive part of the team despite it being only his third game in his new jersey, which is especially interesting considering how his tenure in Brooklyn ended. In the three games with Harden, he’s averaging 24.7 points per game. Finally, three weeks after the deal was finalized, Harden made his debut in Philadelphia last night and it was everything fans had been dreaming of.

It might still be the honeymoon stage, but James Harden and Philly are madly in love.

And he did just that Wednesday, capping off the night with a brilliant look-ahead pass to Matisse Thybulle. The Sixers will (eventually) lose with him in the lineup. I felt the energy, I felt the love. Harden just missed his second straight triple-double with 26 points, nine assists and nine rebounds. “I continue to tell Jo, he’s so used to dribbling it up and having to go one-on-one, which he’s great at,” Harden said. It started from pregame warmups (although one could make the argument it actually started with the pregame fit). The Beard was greeted by a rousing ovation as he began his routine. For so long, the Sixers have been maddening in closeout situations. "It was a movie." — Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) @JHarden13's Philly debut was everything he expected it to be! “Originally, when I was going through everything I was going through in Houston, Philly was my first choice,” Harden said that day. “The love, the fans. It’s striking to watch Harden warm up — the fluidity in movement, the replication of his form on every shot, the frustration he shows after every miss.

The Sixers continue to counter the less-than-rosy reputation of James Harden, who was acquired in a blockbuster trade after he forced his way out of Houston ...

Simmons has not played at all this season after sitting out his time on the Sixers’ following a trade demand. “Right now, you take us out of our first option [and], literally, guys don’t know what to go to,” Rivers said. Starting wing Matisse Thybulle said after Wednesday’s shootaround that Harden has “inspired a lot of people … just [with] the energy, the talk” since joining the Sixers less than three weeks ago. They spent the bulk of the session breaking down all the secondary actions out of the three or four plays Harden already knows. That’s a sharp increase from their season average of 96.5 possessions per game, which ranked 27th in the league entering Wednesday. “I think it’s turned everyone into much more dynamic threats on offense, across the board.

James Harden is catching fire with the Philadelphia 76ers. Will his rookie cards follow or will they stay put? Learn more here.

For one, he has only played for three games so far and a lot can happen between now and the postseason. While those numbers aren’t exactly sustainable, how Harden is playing with Embiid and Tyrese Maxey is the real key here. Again, what Embiid and Maxey have been doing can’t be sustainable for the rest of the season. This short-term fall occurred over seven sales on eBay for a graded card that has a population of 198 in PSA’s records. For his part, Maxey is also thriving in the backcourt with the All-Star around. We take a look at where the Beard has been, how he’s currently doing, and the outlook on his rookie cards. With three games under his belt, the gains Philly is getting from Harden are looking good so far. The promise of having Harden play with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving in Brooklyn was a very good one, especially for those who collect the Beard’s rookie cards. In a span of this season, the Nets will only have a part-time Irving due to his vaccination stand and an injured Durant taking some time off to recover. After all the drama with the Houston Rockets and recently, the Brooklyn Nets, James Harden is finally in a situation that will allow him to thrive – the Philadelphia 76ers. Admittedly, the Beard has always placed the City of Brotherly Love as his first choice a couple of years ago. Thanks to a couple of great games for the 76ers, the chances of Harden reaching the promised land is stronger than ever.

Don't you love it when a plan comes together? Well, at least the Philadelphia 76ers do -- maybe not the other 29 NBA teams. All of the drama surrounding ...

It will continue to be the Anfernee Simons show as long as Damian Lillard remains sidelined, and he put up 17 points and 4.3 assists per game this week on 40 percent 3-point shooting. Houston lost all four games this week, but one of the two losses to the Clippers was by a single point and the Rockets took the Jazz to overtime on Wednesday. Jalen Green has now scored 20 points or more in four of his last five games, the first time he's done that in his young career. It was an up-and-down week for the Pacers, who pulled off a huge upset against the Celtics, lost in overtime to the Thunder and split with the Magic. Malcolm Brogdon is a welcome sight on the court for Indiana, as he put up 22 points, seven rebounds and 5.7 assists in three games this week on 53 percent 3-point shooting. Defense was also the culprit in subsequent road losses to the Heat and Grizzlies. Dejounte Murray missed the loss to the Miami, but averaged 26 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds in the other two games, while Lonnie Walker added 22.3 points per game this week on 44 percent 3-point shooting. The Hornets got a couple of feel-good, blowout wins over the Raptors and Cavs this week, but also lost to the Pistons in overtime and were demolished by the Bucks. Terry Rozier is in the midst of one of his hot streaks, averaging 25.5 points and 6.5 assists per game this week on 48 percent 3-point shooting. The Nets picked up an impressive win over the Bucks in a marquee Saturday evening matchup, but they didn't fare so well in their other three games this week, losing to the Celtics and twice to the Raptors. It's no coincidence that Kyrie Irving was able to play in the game they won, putting up 38 points and five assists on 14-for-26 shooting. The excitement from the Domantas Sabonis trade is starting to wear off, as the Kings went 1-3 this week, culminating with a 30-point loss to the Pelicans. The Kings offense has been good with Sabonis and De'Aaron Fox on the court together, but the defense has been just as bad as it was before the trade. It wasn't a good week for the Cavs, who lost to the Pistons, Wolves and Hornets while beating the Wizards. Darius Garland returned to the lineup on Wednesday for the first time since the All-Star break, putting up 33 points and four assists in 33 minutes, but it wasn't enough to jumpstart the sputtering Cleveland offense. Klay Thompson also missed the two Warriors losses this week, leaving Steph Curry to do the heavy lifting with 30.5 points and seven assists per game on 31 percent 3-point shooting. The Bulls took care of the Hawks in their first game after the break, but suffered tough losses to the Grizzlies and Heat to close out the week. Already without Chris Paul, the Suns lost Devin Booker to health and safety protocols (haven't heard that for a while!) before Wednesday's blowout win over the Blazers. Cam Payne also returned for that game, plugging a gaping hole at lead guard without Paul and Booker, putting up five points and eight assists in 20 minutes to cap off a 2-2 week for Phoenix. The other Cam -- Johnson -- averaged 19.8 points this week on 52 percent 3-point shooting. The Jazz went into the break hot and kept things going with wins this week over the Mavericks, Suns and Rockets. Donovan Mitchell seems to be getting ready for the playoffs, averaging 32 points and 6.7 assists this week on 46 percent 3-point shooting, while Rudy Gobert continued his All-Star season with 19 points, 16 rebounds and 2.7 blocks per game.

Joel Embiid had 27 points and 12 rebounds. Tyrese Maxey scored 25 points. “We all just fit together,” Embiid said. But the night belonged to the Beard. The ...

Maxey scored 11 points in the quarter and the Sixers outscored the Knicks 38-19 to finally grab the lead for good. He played all 48 minutes in the Philadelphia Warriors’ 169-147 win over the Knicks. Members of Chamberlain’s family helped ring the pregame bell. Embiid, Maxey and even Georges Niang each hit two 3s in the quarter. The Knicks, losers of 13 of 15 games, led at halftime and kept the lead early in the third. Sixers fans wore his jersey as they hanged over the tunnel to the locker room and waited for Harden to run out onto the court. With about an hour left in warmups, Harden emerged to a big ovation. The masks came off -- and the beards went on. Be the best James Harden I can be in every aspect.” “I feel like you can put me anywhere in the room and I can fit in,” Harden said. “I think when you get a guy like James and Joel together with what we have, with all of our other guys, our guys sense it, too. He followed that with, yup, his step-back 3 to give him five fast points. “It felt like a playoff atmosphere,” Embiid said.