James Harden has said before that he has always wanted to join the Philadelphia 76ers and team up with Joel Embiid. In fact, it was “originally his first choice” before he was sent to the Brooklyn Nets last season.
After Harden's debut on Friday against the Minnesota Timberwolves, Sixers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey reiterated Harden's desire to play alongside Embiid, adding that the superstar guard has always felt that the Cameroonian big man was the perfect partner for him.
“James is a basketball genius,” Morey said after watching Harden explode for a near triple-double of 27 points, eight rebounds and 12 assists. “And he's been wanting to play with Joel for a long time. I think he's always thought Joel was, like, the perfect guy to pair with him.”
If there was ever any doubt that the James Harden-Joel Embiid partnership will not work, the two certainly erased those concerns. Embiid, for his part, dropped 34 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in the dominant 133-102 win.
After the contest, Embiid was all smiles as well, noting that it's still unbelievable he's able to play alongside Harden and dominate together. According to JoJo, he never had the benefit of having a partner carry the offensive load with him until The Beard arrived.
“That was probably the most wide-open I’ve ever been in my career. I had a lot of easy baskets. I used to have to work for everything, but in the fourth quarter, the shot-making ability, the shot-creation, you should’ve seen my face. I never had this!” Embiid said of playing with Harden.
While there are tons of criticisms on Harden on how he forced his way out of the Nets to join the Sixers, the early returns (at least for one game) show that he made the right decision. Of course it might take years before that is officially answered, but Harden definitely looks happy in Philly.
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