James Harden To Make 76ers Debut Friday

Philadelphia PA

25 February, 2022

2:10 PM

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PHILADELPHIA, PA — A new era of Philadelphia 76ers basketball begins on Friday night when James Harden suits up for the first time in his new uniform. Harden will make his debut against the Timberwolves in Minnesota, a game which will mark the official beginning of a playoff run pairing Harden with another superstar in Joel Embiid. It also marks what the organization hopes is a decisive turning of the page from the drama surrounding Ben Simmons, Embiid's co-star for the last four years who sat out this entire season and served a significant off-court distraction. Despite the distraction and the loss of Simmons' in-game presence, the Sixers haven't missed a beat, and stand just three games out of first in the Eastern Conference at the All-Star break. RELATED: Sixers Trade Ben Simmons For James Harden At NBA Trade Deadline Harden's debut will be interesting for several reasons. Outside analysts note that it significantly improves the Sixers championship odds, at least this year and next year. Considering these are Embiid's prime years, it made sense to do anything possible to get him another superstar capable of getting the team a championship. But just throwing together stars doesn't always end well. Sometimes it does — see LeBron James and his tenure in Miami — but other times it doesn't, like in Brooklyn where Harden, Kevin Durant, and Kyrie Irving could never translate their massive star power into sustained success. There's a lot that needs to mesh well for superstars to co-exist in basketball, ranging from who else they're surrounded by, how their skills complement one another, and, most of all, how their egos and personalities handle sharing the limelight. For the entire season, Embiid has had the ball more than anyone else on the Sixers. He's the go to man at all times. Harden is only reaching his potential when he's the go-to man; as ESPN notes, he can sometimes "just stand there" when he doesn't have the ball, and unlike Simmons, isn't a defensive game-changer. There's optimism that Harden's elite shooting ability could complement Embiid's domination down low perfectly, but to make it work, both players will need to make room for the other to sometimes take over a game. Simmons has yet to debut for the Nets, and it's not clear when he will. Friday night's game is at 7 p.m.