76ers’ James Harden Claps Back After Latest Report
James Harden once again accuses somebody of being a liar.
This time, it’s not the Philadelphia 76ers’ President of Basketball Operations, Daryl Morey.
On Wednesday, ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne went inside the feud between Harden and the Sixers with a lengthy report painting a picture of what has transpired behind the scenes leading up to his public standoff with the Sixers.
In the report, Harden was described as pouty when he found out he wouldn’t get an invite to participate in his 11th All-Star game.
After being initially left off the roster, Harden was reportedly set to become an injury replacement. According to Shelburne, the star guard did not have a response for the league for several days.
By the time he was ready to make a decision, the league went on to name Pascal Siakam of the Toronto Raptors as the official injury replacement for Kevin Durant.
When that tidbit of the article made its way to Instagram, users saw Harden throw out a familiar accusation towards Shelburne and ESPN — referring to the report as “lies.”
Then, Harden took his Instagram story to respond to the latest report further.
“Ya’ll gotta chill with these reports,” Harden wrote, following the text with crying laughing emojis. “I’mma start reporting [expletive].”
The last time Harden put out a public statement, he made it clear that his relationship with the 76ers was likely beyond repair. A few days before that, Harden made his infamous statement aimed at Daryl Morey, referring to the President of Basketball Ops as a “liar” while claiming he wouldn’t play for an organization run by him again.
The NBA investigated Harden’s comments and found no wrongdoing on the Sixers’ end. As for Harden, he was issued a six-figure fine, which is expected to lead to an arbitrary ruling due to the NBPA’s argument against the NBA’s decision to fine the ten-time All-Star.
At this point, Harden has shown no signs of slowing down his attempt to force his way out of Philadelphia as the 2023-2024 NBA season inches closer. While the Sixers remain focused on having the star guard back on the floor for training camp next month, it seems nothing has changed from the player’s perspective at this point in the summer.
