Philadelphia 76ers star James Harden has been criticized many times over the years for his work ethic. But, The Beard just had a very intense offseason where he was focused on getting better and helping a team towards a championship, whether it's the Sixers or Los Angeles Clippers.

As reported by Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report, Harden rented a home in Aspen this summer in order to do some rigorous training at high altitudes:

“In the offseason, Harden rented a house for nearly a month in a resort area of Aspen, Colorado, for an offseason boot camp, sources say. The high altitude made for rigorous training sessions. He worked out multiple times a day during the entirety of his 27-day occupancy.”

“His contingent consisted of a rotating personnel of 12 essential individuals, including basketball trainers, fitness specialists, nutritionists and chefs.”

Despite his broken relationship with Sixers president Daryl Morey, Harden wants to still be great. He just returned to Philly on Wednesday after going M.I.A for 10 days when he was in Houston taking care of his mother, according to reports.

James Harden was actually ready to get on the team plane en route for Milwaukee ahead of the season opener, but the Sixers wanted him to stay back and focus on ramping up his workload before taking the floor in game situations.

It remains to be seen if Harden will be with Philadelphia throughout the entire season. However, he's clearly doing everything imaginable to be in great shape and prove he's still an elite player in the Association.

Sixers fans should be able to respect that.