MILWAUKEE — The rhetoric coming out of Brooklyn would lead you to believe James Harden was a bad teammate at the end of his tenure there.
But the rhetoric coming from the 76ers is the complete opposite. They’ll tell you that Harden has been a welcomed addition and positive influence on his teammates.
“He’s been great,” Doc Rivers said of the perennial All-NBA selection.
The Sixers acquired Harden and Paul Millsap from the Brooklyn Nets on Thursday in exchange for Ben Simmons, Seth Curry, Andre Drummond and two first-round picks. The move was made to accommodate Harden and Simmons, who both wanted out of their former situations. This came after Harden had already forced a trade from the Houston Rockets to the Nets 14 months earlier.
The way Harden left the Rockets and Nets brought some skepticism about how he would fit in with the Sixers.
Early on, he’s been a leader despite being sidelined while rehabilitating a left hamstring strain. At his suggestion, Harden accompanied the Sixers to Wisconsin for Thursday night’s game against the Milwaukee Bucks at Fiserv Forum, the final matchup before the All-Star break. The point guard’s debut could be on Feb. 25 at the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Sixers’ first matchup after the break.
“He just thought the more time with the guys, the more time on the floor [would be beneficial],” Rivers said of Harden accompanying the team. “I mean yesterday he went hard. Because of that, all the young guys had their hardest practice, going by their pucks. They ran more yesterday than they did the whole year. That’s because they were watching James flying up and down. That’s huge.”
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 3-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.
“All that stuff is good,” Rivers said.
