James Harden

Harden finally feels at peace and is ready to take the court with a chance to win a title alongside Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, and a new-look roster.

“This culture of this city is second to none,” Harden said, “and honestly, they like, die for their sports. “But it’s about the long run,” Harden said. This city has a lot of happiness to be a part of. That came after Harden missed 21 of the Nets’ final 24 regular-season games with a right hamstring strain the season before. With several new additions, Harden headed into Tuesday’s season opener fully aware that the reigning Eastern Conference champion Celtics will be a challenge. I love being on the basketball court.” [forced a trade from Brooklyn](https://www.inquirer.com/sixers/simmons-harden-trade-nba-deadline-sixers-nets-20220210.html) to the Sixers on Feb. He missed a combined 18 games with the Nets and Sixers last season associated with left hamstring tightness. He played in Game 1 of the conference semifinals against the Milwaukee Bucks, but exited after just 43 seconds. Tuesday night](https://www.inquirer.com/sports/sixers-boston-celtics-nba-matisse-thybulle-contract-20221018.html) in a nationally televised game on TNT. 2, 2020](https://www.inquirer.com/sixers/daryl-morey-sixers-joel-embiid-houston-sam-hinkie-bryan-colangelo-20201102.html). “Whether it was me getting out of Houston or what happened last year, it was just a lot.

The Philadelphia 76ers and Boston Celtics played the first game of the 2022-2023 NBA season on Tuesday night, and in so many ways the NBA is picking up ...

Philly has championship aspirations, as do the Celtics after falling two wins short of the title last year. Harden mostly looked pretty great at the start of this game. Watch the video here: There really is such a thing as being too open. Take this second quarter possession from the Sixers as the ultimate evidence. And Harden’s shot is just ...

The 2022 MLB postseason is heating up, so James Harden can be excused for using a baseball term to describe his thoughts about the...

James Harden can continue playing down the upcoming showdown with the Celtics, but he is not going to stop NBA fans from making a huge deal about this early season clash between two NBA title contenders. Obviously, we start off at Boston, which is going to be a tough challenge for us. The Sixers kick off their season Tuesday night on the road at TD Garden against the reigning and defending Eastern Conference champions, Boston Celtics.

Philadelphia 76ers' James Harden, right, tries to get past Cleveland Cavaliers' Donovan Mitchell during the first half of a preseason NBA basketball game, ...

As one of the league’s true elite, his critics will undoubtedly continue to fire shots at him even if he were to win it all. And he’s shown time and time again that he means to render that nitpick irrelevant as well. While the exit wasn’t pretty, is there ever really a great way to leave a team once a player has staked his claim as one of the top three talents in franchise history? While he hasn’t reached his Rockets-era level of offensive dominance, his bounce and first step look miles better when compared to last season as he continues to recover from his hamstring injury. And as he kept running into the Golden State Warriors dynasty, ultimately unable to overcome perhaps the greatest collection of talent in NBA history, his haters only gained more ammunition. The Sixers were able to build a deep two-way bench to back up one of the most well-rounded starting lineups in the league, thanks to Harden. Why is that when his recent performance has been more in line with the second tier of stars than that of LeBron, KD, and Steph? [the Thunder clutched tightly to their purses](https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2031893-james-harden-admits-money-was-deciding-factor-in-leaving-okc-thunder) as it came time to pay James Harden his due. While he was on the court, that number skyrocketed to 115.4. His pundits and skeptics are quick to point out that he’s been on four different teams, demanding trades twice within two seasons, but few ever credit him for being one of the most malleable players that have ever graced an NBA basketball court. Other players, including the Philadelphia 76ers’ own Joel Embiid, have shown the potential to be a number one option for a title team someday, but none of them have displayed the consistent dominance that Harden has while remaining ring-less. [the amount of hatred he receives](https://deadspin.com/everybody-hates-harden-1848145558) is far greater than that reserved for even the proven All-Stars in this league.

James Harden looked extra comfortable heading into NBA opening night ... rocking a pair of fuzzy slippers.

and following that, the Warriors take on the Lakers at 7 p.m. leaving the fuzz on all three for Philly's much-anticipated first game of the year!! Tip-off is slated for 4:30 p.m. and he topped it all off with a sweet Louis Vuitton bag. Twitter Tweet Unavailable [James Harden](https://www.tmz.com/people/james-harden/) didn't break out the razor for his face, shirt OR his shoes for the 76ers' opening night ...

Their first test will come against the Boston Celtics, a fellow Eastern Conference powerhouse looking to repeat their run to the NBA Finals. Harden's priority ...

You know, it will help us in the long run.” You know, it will help us in the long run.”— Keith Pompey (@PompeyOnSixers) Their first test will come against the Boston Celtics, a fellow Eastern Conference powerhouse looking to repeat their run to the NBA Finals. We are just looking game by game. “Like I said, we gotta hit singles. “I think the more we continue to head in the right direction and build really good habits.

Philadelphia 76ers star James Harden got a little ahead of himself with a taunt during Tuesday night's regular-season opener vs. the Boston Celtics.

[Forsberg: After diving deep, can Jaylen lift Celtics to new heights?](https://www.nbcsports.com/boston/celtics/celtics-2022-23-season-preview-prediction-jaylen-brown-dives-deep?b) [Marcus Smart](https://www.nbcsports.com/boston/celtics/marcus-smart?b) flying then taunted the Celtics guard with a shimmy before air-balling his 3-point attempt. Late in the second quarter of the Philadelphia 76ers-Boston Celtics showdown, Harden sent

The 76ers visited the reigning Eastern Conference champions to kick off the 2022/23 NBA season, and it wasn't long before Harden drew the ire of the home ...

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You see, when Harden did his customary tunnel walk, he didn't look like a professional basketball player. While wearing a purple sweater and loose-fitting ...

The 76ers would lose to Boston 126-117, but Harden dropped 35 points, eight assists, and eight boards. It’s early Monday morning, and the last thing you want is to have a wall of numbers thrown in your face as you chug half a Red Bull and throw on a worn sweater and ripped moccasins. [October 18, 2022] [October 19, 2022] I’ve been in Harden’s shoes. The outfit he had on for NBA opening night as Philadelphia took on the Celtics (-138) might take the cake in Harden’s most quirky style choice yet.

Harden chipped in 35 points (9-14 FG, 5-9 3Pt, 12-12 FT), eight rebounds and seven assists across 37 minutes during Tuesday's 126-117 loss to the Celtics.

Harden sure looked like his old self on Tuesday night, putting up 35 points, eight rebounds and seven assists in a season-opening 126-117 loss to the defending ...

Doc Rivers will get a better handle on the rotations. The defense should stabilize somewhat as a slew of new players added in the offseason, like P.J. In the grand scheme of things, Tuesday's loss was one game of 82.

With the preseason in the rearview, the Philadelphia 76ers had an opportunity to finally play a game that's worth something. Going into the start of the ...

Overall, Harden finished the night by scoring a team-high of 35 points in 37 minutes. Harden checked in for the entire first quarter on Tuesday. With a dominant second-half showing from their pair of stars, Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum, the Celtics outscored the Sixers 63-54 in the final two quarters. During the regular season, Harden averaged 21 points, continuing a regression from his Houston days. Despite all of the distractions and noise surrounding the Celtics this offseason, nobody in Philadelphia believed the Celtics would be an easy defeat for Philadelphia on Tuesday night. Boston hit them back in the second quarter and tied the game up before going into halftime.

NBA Twitter reacts to Philadelphia 76ers star James Harden going off in a road loss to the Boston Celtics.

Carry the hell on… James say he heard the noise!! [October 19, 2022] He scored 22 points in the first half, he hit five triples, and made all 12 of his free throws. However, it is just one game. It was a disappointing result for a team with a ton of expectations and they want to be able to compete for a title in the Eastern Conference.

That's what most Sixers fans will tell themselves after a rough opening night in Boston Tuesday. And it's very true. Joel Embiid struggled and will likely still ...

In those situations, we’ve just got to keep moving the ball, going to the second action. Not quite, but the team doesn’t need him to be that. Especially on the road, it’s going to be difficult to recover. It’s just one game, but the Sixers have to feel damn good about the version of James Harden they saw. With Embiid dealing with early foul trouble and double teams, it was Harden who kept the Sixers in the game. But it was Harden’s overall shot profile that was arguably the most encouraging thing. It’s about doing the right things to try to help this team win. … I was like, ’No, you have to stay on.’ And I thought that stretch saved the game. He posted 32 points and nine assists, combining with Embiid for a dominant offensive performance in late March. It was a welcomed sight after that shot seemed to fail him so often after he arrived in Philly. The Beard was very good-to-brilliant. Given the NBA track record of the Sixers’ newcomers, it feels like those things will get better as well.

The Philadelphia 76ers went out and got tougher in the offseason when they brought in PJ Tucker at the outset of free agency. With the Sixers being ousted ...

For somebody that you go to battle with like that to say that after the series, it shows how big of a person he is to do that in a loss last, but same time, it’s a good rewarding feeling to win and have somebody say that. He really would have crazy triple-doubles and all the exciting things that gets fans involved, but I think now he’s got smarter. Even with the injury to his face, he still came out and battled for his team. The Sixers made Tucker their main priority as he has experience playing next to James Harden and he brings the toughness and two-way ability that the team needs to succeed. Back in the day, just coming up here working out, and just being here. The Philadelphia 76ers went out and got tougher in the offseason when they brought in PJ Tucker at the outset of free agency.