While every team wants to win the NBA Championship, the pressure to be victorious is different for every franchise. Some are entering the postseason with no expectations, just happy to have made a step forward in their development.
Others are in championship or bust, win-now mode. In some instances, there are even some players facing immense pressure.
A team that would fall into the latter is the Philadelphia 76ers, who also have one of the players facing the most pressure in James Harden.
Harden has essentially forced himself off of a team in two consecutive seasons, getting traded to the Brooklyn Nets from the Houston Rockets last season before quietly requesting a trade again this season.
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There likely isn’t a player facing as much pressure as Harden is this season. Requesting a trade once puts a big spotlight on someone, but to do it twice, in consecutive seasons, you are leaving yourself open to some major ridicule.
If the 76ers cannot make a deep run into the postseason or Harden falters, he is going to hear about it all offseason. Still seeking his first championship and having had some struggles in the playoffs, there is a lot of attention being placed on Harden. Despite that, he isn’t phased in the slightest.
“I don’t (have anything to prove)… I don’t feel any pressure, I don’t feel any of that,” Harden says. “For me, it’s going out there and playing my game, trying to help my team win.”
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A former MVP on his third team in two seasons who has sometimes fallen short in the postseason certainly sounds like a person that may have something to prove. Harden not feeling any pressure despite the circumstances is quite surprising.
James Harden’s postseason stats are a little better than what he has produced during this regular season, which was the second-worst shooting season in his career and worst 3-point shooting season. If he is unable to find his old form, it could be a quick exit for the Philadelphia 76ers, who may have some big changes to make this offseason on the coaching staff and roster.
