76ers guard James Harden is not expected to play in the team’s season opener on Thursday night against the Bucks, prompting the NBA to look into his absence.
According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the league plans to investigate whether Philadelphia and Harden are in violation of the NBA’s new player participation policy which was adopted ahead of the ‘23-‘24 season.
The league’s participation policy, which aims to ensure star players are more regularly present for big games in the era of load management, grants teams an exception for injuries, personal reasons, and “rare and unusual circumstances.”
“We are looking into the facts around James Harden’s availability tonight to determine whether an approved reason exists for his lack of participation,” said league spokesperson Mike Bass, via ESPN.
Harden reportedly returned to the Sixers facilities ahead of practice on Wednesday but did not travel with the team to Milwaukee on Thursday. A report from Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo! said the team decided to keep Harden in Philadelphia in order to “minimize disruption.”
The 34-year-old did not participate in any of Philadelphia’s preseason games as he angled for a trade to the Clippers following a public spat with Daryl Morey during the offseason.
The 10-time All-Star is also reportedly not expected to be available during the team’s second game of the season against the Raptors on Sunday.
If the league finds the 76ers violated the participation policy, they could be fined $100,000 for the first-time offense. A second offense would result in a fine of $250,000, and any further violations would cost $1 million each.
