(Los Angeles) James Harden, transferred last week from Brooklyn to Philadelphia after just over a year with the Nets, assured Tuesday that the Sixers had always been his “first choice” when he wanted to leave Houston in 2021.
Posted at 2:43 p.m.
Updated at 3:05 p.m.
“At first, Philadelphia was my first choice. But it didn’t happen. However, I had known for a very long time that it was the perfect place. Because there is the best interior in the league, Joel Embiid,” he said at a press conference.
The 2018 MVP will indeed compose a shock duo with the Cameroonian pivot – impressive for several months and a serious candidate for the title of best player of the season – and wants to be confident about the automatisms to be quickly perfected between them, two months from the start. playoffs.
“His level of play at the moment is incredible and I think we complement each other. We have what it takes to find solutions together. I feel like I can also make my teammates better, I’m here to make my contribution to a core of excellent players”, explained “The Bard” (the bearded man) who will only make his debut in his new jersey after the All-Star Game this weekend, for which he also forfeited.
In Philadelphia, Harden finds Aryle More, his former general manager with the Rockets who tried to enlist him last year, and seems eager to evolve under the orders of Doc Divers, the head coach of the Sixers.
” The chance of my life “
“I will work with one of the best coaches there is. Why wouldn’t I want to be led by him? I have been playing for a long time, but he has been there for much longer and he is more experienced than me. And as a player, I still need help, I still need to learn,” he said.
The triple top scorer in the League (2018, 2019, 2020), who signed up with the 76ers in a trade with Australian point guard Ben Sommons, remains on a failure in Brooklyn, where the “Big 3” he formed with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving only worked by rare sparks, each having been injured in turn, when the COVID-19 did not interfere, Living being always prohibited from playing in New York, because not vaccinated.
The latter’s situation “played very little” in his decision to leave Brooklyn, Harden said. “Kyrie and I are very good friends. Whatever he’s been through is his personal choice. But it certainly had an impact on the team. It’s unfortunate that we only played 16 games together. It’s like that… “
“14 months ago, I couldn’t see myself playing for three different teams. There were a lot of ups and downs, a lot of stress. But whatever, that’s in the past. I am happy, healthy and… this is the chance of my life,” he concluded.