It didn't take long for James Harden to win over the Philadelphia 76ers faithful.
One slithery move past Anthony Edwards for the bucket plus the foul in his Sixers debut and you know the fans forgot all about Ben Simmons.
the Harden era has begun! pic.twitter.com/n7eSzHxJyH
— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) February 26, 2022
But James Harden didn't just win over Sixers nation spiritually. The Beard poured in 27 points, 12 assists and eight rebounds including five triples in his very first game with his new ball club. That last stat feels symbolic in a way, as James Harden's five threes matched Ben Simmons' career total in 275 games with Philadelphia. Harden did it in one.
Career threes as a Sixer:
5 — James Harden in 1 game
5 — Ben Simmons pic.twitter.com/yBPWQAzkV8— StatMuse (@statmuse) February 26, 2022
Gone is the ball-handler who was terrified of shooting from distance. In comes one of the most prolific perimeter scorers that this league has ever seen. The Sixers won't ever have to worry about James Harden being gun-shy to let it fly from deep given that he's attempted the 3rd most three-pointers in NBA history.
Harden has taken 7,042 threes in his career, just behind Stephen Curry's 7210 and Ray Allen's 7429.
With arguably the most dominant interior force in Joel Embiid, the inside-out combination the Sixers can unleash on the rest of the league is downright terrifying. They certainly looked the part after they demolished a solid Minnesota Timberwolves club 133-102 in their first game together. The James Harden era is upon us.
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