James Harden hasn't played a game for the Philadelphia 76ers just yet, but he has already been making a positive impression on his teammates.
According to the latest report from Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer, Harden has completely bought into the culture that the Sixers have built. This comes just a week after he was traded away from the Brooklyn Nets, where his relationships with his former star teammates in Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving had gone sour.
Via Pompey:
The Sixers are a close-knit group and Harden is fitting in nicely. As part of team bonding, he initiated a card game during Wednesday’s flight.
The future Hall of Famer also has been sharing his expertise with teammates. He attempted to teach Joel Embiid his signature step-back three-pointer following Tuesday’s shootaround. Embiid unsuccessfully attempted it during that night’s loss to the Boston Celtics.
Harden also was seen encouraging and giving pointers to teammates throughout the game.
Harden has reportedly become a leader within the locker room despite not having played a single minute thus far. He even voluntarily attended Philadelphia's road game against the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday night, a 114-110 Sixers win:
“He just thought the more time with the guys, the more time on the floor [would be beneficial],” head coach Doc Rivers said of Harden accompanying the Sixers. “I mean yesterday he went hard. Because of that, all the young guys had their hardest practice, going by their pucks. They ran more [Wednesday] than they did the whole year. That’s because they were watching James flying up and down. That’s huge.”
James Harden certainly hasn't taken long to move on from his brief stint with Kevin Durant on the Nets. It has been a complete 180 from the buzz coming out of Brooklyn in the past few weeks.
The man is a bona fide Philadelphia 76er now. A collision course between his past and present will certainly be spicy.
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