CAMDEN, N.J. — The Philadelphia 76ers will begin their 2023-24 season without James Harden. The Sixers star returned to the team at Wednesday’s practice after being away for over a week but was asked not to travel with the team ahead of its season opener.

The Sixers begin their season on Thursday against the Milwaukee Bucks and then face the Toronto Raptors on Saturday. Their home opener is the following evening against the Portland Trail Blazers.

Head coach Nick Nurse said that he was made aware last night that Harden will be returning to the Sixers. He explained that today's practice was shorter and focused mostly on game preparation and confirmed that Harden, who participated in parts of practice, will not be traveling with the team.

“Well, he's been gone for 10 days, so we are in ramp-up phase again,” Nurse said. “So he will, like we would normally do, stay here, get on-court work with our staff and with our players from the Blue Coats and our two-way guys and things like that and try to get him ramped up as soon as we can.”

Nurse said that Sixers Vice President of Athlete Care Simon Rice and the team's medical staff provide important input for Harden's physical readiness to play. When asked how Harden took the news that he wasn’t going to be traveling with the team, Nurse said he took it well.

“He is fine,” the Sixers coach said. “He understands he's gotta get ramped up and obviously, like I said, he's been gone for 10 days, so, I think he understands it. He wants to get back to playing live, full-court basketball.”

Nurse said that Harden will be assessed day by day as the Sixers' season approaches and that the other players aren’t affected by his situation. After missing all of the preseason, Harden will have to jump right into playing for a new coach and with some new teammates. For now, Nurse says, the Sixers will be turning their focus to the Bucks.