The Philadelphia 76ers will kick off their 2023-24 season against the Milwaukee Bucks. Joel Embiid and the Sixers will get the first look at the league's new superstar tandem of Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard but there's one Philly player whose status is on everyone’s mind, so let’s answer the question. Is James Harden playing tonight vs. the Bucks?

Is James Harden playing in Sixers' season opener vs Bucks?

Harden was ruled out of the Sixers's season opener with the official listing of “Not with Team – Return to Competition Reconditioning” on the NBA injury report.

Yesterday, Nick Nurse said that Harden will not travel with the Sixers and get some work in with their two-way and G League players to get his conditioning levels back up. Harden spent 10 days away from the team, who said he was dealing with a personal matter, and he will miss at least the first two games of Philly’s season.

After facing the Bucks, Nurse will make his return to Canada as the Sixers face the Toronto Raptors on Saturday. Their home opener is Sunday against the Portland Trail Blazers. Nurse was noncommittal about Harden's potential status for that game, saying that his readiness to play will be assessed day by day.

The Sixers have no other injured player on their injury report. The Bucks have not yet sent in their report but head coach Adrian Griffin said yesterday that everyone should be available.

The question of whether James Harden is playing tonight vs. the Bucks has already been answered: he will not.