Basketball

6’5″ James Harden talks about Joel Embiid, defends his performance last season and explains his $15 Million pay-cut

Raahib Singh
|PublishedJul 18, 2022

James Harden talks about Joel Embiid, defends his performance last season and explains his $15 Million pay-cut

Sixers star James Harden explains his mindset going into the next season, things with Joel Embiid, and more

The NBA is the world’s primer league when it comes to basketball. However, at the end of the day, it boils down to being yet another business. Each team wants to win the championship and generate as much revenue as possible. The players have understood the same and started manipulating things to benefit from this business.

In the last two seasons, James Harden forced his way out of two teams in the hopes of winning a championship. First, he went from Houston to Brooklyn, where he partnered up with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving. However, that didn’t work out as expected. Last season, he forced his way out of Brooklyn at the trade deadline and made his way to Joel Embiid and the Sixers. They were assumed to be the title favorites. However, they got eliminated in the 2nd round.

Also Read: James Harden wants $10 million for his iconic beard to disappear off the face of the earth

There was assumed to be some bad blood in the Sixers’ camp after their early exit. However, with Harden taking a $15-million paycut to stay with the team, all that seems to be a thing of the past now.

James Harden talks about his physical form, winning a championship with Joel Embiid

James Harden is one of the best scorers the NBA has ever seen. For three straight years, Harden was terrorizing the league, averaging 30+ points. His scoring has taken a hit ever since he moved from Houston. James became a pass-first guy on the Nets, and never seemed to totally come out of the zone, even when the Sixers needed him to.

A part could be blamed on the injuries he was dealing with. Talking about if what people say affects him, James said,

so they viewed it as a down year. I was in Philadelphia for a couple of months and I had to learn on the fly. That’s just what it was. I’m in a good space physically and mentally right now, and I’m just looking forward to next season.”
via: https://t.co/r7v124Pllt

— DubNation(2022 NBA CHAMPIONS) (@dubs3000) July 18, 2022

Also Read: “These last two years, I’ve been dealing with some hamstring issues”: James Harden’s candid confession on recent struggles

He admits he’s been working closely with Daryl Morey and Joel Embiid, understanding what the team needs to win. That is the main reason behind his taking a hefty $15-million pay cut.

Philly loyals would hope things work out for Harden and the Sixers, and his paycut gets them the much-awaited championship.

About the author

Raahib Singh

Raahib Singh is an NBA Journalist and Content Strategist at The SportsRush. A Computer Science Engineer by qualification, Raahib's passion for sports drew him towards TSR. He started playing basketball at 14 and has been following the NBA since 2013. His entry into the basketball world perfectly coincided with Stephen Curry putting the league on notice. Having followed the league for a long time, he decided to use his knowledge to become a sportswriter with The SportsRush in 2020. Raahib loves to put up some shots in his spare time, watch Cricket, Formula 1, and/or read a nice thriller.