A recent report from ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne claims that Philadelphia 76ers’ star point-guard James Harden declined Adam Silver’s request to feature in the 2023 All-Star Game as an injury replacement. As per the report, Harden was unresponsive to Silver’s request for days and was reportedly ‘pouting’ in disapproval. Eventually, by the time Harden made up his mind, Silver moved on from the Sixers star and named Pascal Siakam instead of him. While these reports are getting viral on the internet, James Harden recently came up with a strong response to these accusations on ESPN’s Instagram comments section.
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James Harden was surprisingly snubbed from the 2023 All-Star game which created a wide row of controversies in the NBA. Now with this report coming in, questions have started popping up about Harden’s capability to last long as a productive player producing All-Star performances across seasons.
James Harden refutes Ramona Shelburne’s report of refuting Adam Silver’s All-Star invite
James Harden was very much dismayed and disappointed after being snubbed as an All-Star last season. The Sixers guard is already dealing with a tumultuous situation with his team’s management. However, recent reports from ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne have stirred the pot even further. The reports claimed that Harden declined Adam Silver’s invite as an injury replacement in the All-Star game owing to his initial snub from last year’s game.
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As per Shelburne, Harden was unresponsive to Silver’s request for days and reportedly ‘pouted’ to express his disinterest. This has garnered major attention in the NBA community, which has started questioning Harden’s capability and production as a player and an All-Star athlete. ESPN posted this story on their Instagram page, with the caption:
“Harden was dismayed at the initial snub, sources told @ramonashelburne. It didn’t help that his former teammates Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving had both been voted in as starters by the fans, media and players, while Harden was a distant fourth among Eastern Conference guards.”
However, Harden vehemently refuted all such claims from ESPN, commenting on their Instagram post: “Lies.” Furthermore, adding on to the same, Harden also posted an IG story with the caption:
“Y’all gotta chill with these reports. Imma start reporting sh*t.”
Surely, Harden was not pleased with all such negative publicity surrounding him uncalled. The Sixers guard is already dealing with a tough situation at Philadelphia, with the franchise reluctant to adhere to the player’s trade request. The situation has worsened further in this off-season, with Harden being fined $100,000 for his comments on Sixers’ basketball operations executive, Daryl Morey. If ‘the Beard’ decides to sit out on his games during the upcoming season, he looms a fine of around $389,000 per game missed.
Harden responded to his All-Star snub with an IG story
It was unacceptable for Harden after he learned he was snubbed from the 2023 All-Star game. On the other hand, his former teammates Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant had all made it to last season’s All-Star game, with only Harden being an exception. Responding to this with an IG story, Harden wrote a two-worded caption which said: “The disrespect.”
The 2023 league MVP Joel Embiid had also come in support of Harden, to explain his displeasure about this situation. Embiid wrote on his Twitter, “Y’all got some explaining to do @NBA,” questioning the league’s decision to omit the three-time scoring champion. However, if Ramona Shelburne’s report were to be believed, this brings in a completely different twist to this story.
