He may not have taken the floor yet, but James Harden's presence is already having an impact on the Philadelphia 76ers. Since the trade has become official, the All-Star guard has spent the past two games on the bench with his new teammates.

Due to a hamstring injury suffered earlier this season, Harden has yet to make his debut for the Sixers. The team is proceeding with caution and opting to hold off on inserting him into the lineup until after the All-Star break. Over the past few days, he has been able to participate in practices, which is a good sign.

During his introductory press conference Tuesday, Harden spoke about embracing a leadership role with the Sixers. He understands the roster is filled with talent and feels it's his job to help bring the best out of everyone. While he can't elevate the team with his elite-level scoring and playmaking, he can still make an impact with his words.

Following their brutal loss to the Boston Celtics, the Sixers traveled to Milwaukee for one last game before the break. Their last meeting before enjoying eight days off was a nationally televised matchup against Giannis and the defending champion Bucks.

Things went down the wire in this battle of two of the Eastern Conference's top teams, but it would be the Sixers who come away victorious. Led by another dominant performance from Joel Embiid, they managed to leave Milwaukee with a 123-120 win.

Throughout the broadcast, James Harden was constantly seen speaking with teammates on the bench. Most notably Tyrese Maxey, who Harden is excited to take under his wing moving forward. After the game, players and coaches opened up on the former MVP's leadership Thursday.

One big standout for the Sixers against the Bucks was Georges Niang. Doc Rivers opted to insert the sharpshooting forward into the starting lineup, and the decision paid off greatly. He went on to post 18 points and shoot an impressive 5-for-10 from beyond the arc. Niang later mentioned it was Harden who pushed him to be aggressive from beyond the arc.

“In the first quarter of the game, I was driving in the paint and lost the ball a couple times. He pulled me aside and was like, ‘try and get up ten threes. That's what you do.' I just looked at the stat sheet, and I had ten threes. Note to self, take note from James Harden,” said Niang.

Doc Rivers said postgame that for some stretches of the game, he was relaying stuff to Harden to tell the team in the huddle. He also pushed him to talk with Maxey about taking open driving lanes when they were they were there, which the young guard proceeded to do. Rivers cited this change of attack from Maxey as one of the key turning points in the game.

Harden's willingness to be a leader is a huge positive for the Sixers, as he will be a focal point of the lineup once he enters the fray. We already know about the strides Joel Embiid has made to be a pillar of the locker room, and James Harden appears eager to do his part with his play and words.