The 2022-23 NBA season has not gotten off to a hot start for the Philadelphia 76ers. They have had to face off with some tough opponents, as the season started with a trip to play the Boston Celtics before hosting the Milwaukee Bucks for their home opener. They went 0-2 in those games and there were plenty of reasons why they weren’t able to pull out a victory.
James Harden is not one of those reasons. After struggling at the start of his 76ers tenure last season, as a nagging hamstring injury sapped him of his explosiveness, Harden has looked like his old vintage self thus far this season.
The former MVP credits the work he was able to do in the gym this offseason for the hot start. The 2021 offseason was marred by rehabbing, but now that he was able to get back on track during the 2022 offseason, the results have been evident.
“I’m a workaholic, so not being able to put the work in like I normally do was frustrating,” Harden said. “This summer, I had that opportunity to, and then even up to this point, I feel really good. So, just continue to put the work in and living with the results, and that’s what I live by.
“A lot of people don’t see the work that I put in. This scoring ability and all of this other stuff doesn’t come without work. So as much as people want to talk about all of this other stuff that doesn’t really matter, I’m a workaholic and I love to be in the gym and play basketball. So I’ll continue to do that.”
LATEST NBA NEWS & SCORES: James Harden & Philadelphia 76ers Updates
Harden has been by far Philadelphia’s best player in the first two games of the season. Against the Celtics, he scored 35 points to go along with eight rebounds and seven assists. He played 37 minutes and turned the ball over only three times.
Harden was just as great against the Bucks, scoring 31 points with eight rebounds, nine assists, one block, two steals and only two turnovers in 40 minutes. He generated over half of the 76ers’ points in the evening on his own, as they lost to Milwaukee 90-88.
Alas, the individual accolades aren’t what is important to Harden. He is happy with how he has performed but is more concerned with the team winning games.
“But for me, it’s not even about the individual. Individual [play] is great, and I’ll do whatever it takes for the betterment of this team, but all of us need to be playing at a high level and that’s a part of my job.”
LATEST NBA NEWS & SCORES: James Harden & Philadelphia 76ers Updates
Harden’s sacrifice for the team began in the offseason when he took a sizable pay cut. That allowed Daryl Morey to add multiple pieces to the roster to improve the team’s depth. While that has not paid dividends just yet, it goes to show just how committed Harden is to helping the team win after being close previous times in his career but never being able to get over the hump.
