James Harden Reveals Mental Approach Before Facing Sixers in Philly

What's James Harden's thought process ahead of his return to South Philly?

For the first time since the 2023 NBA Playoffs, James Harden is going to compete at the Wells Fargo Center. This time around, he’ll don a Los Angeles Clippers uniform as he’s set to face the Philadelphia 76ers for the second time since his late October departure earlier this season.

Several times this season, Harden has gone on record to reveal his reason for wanting out of Philadelphia. Over the weekend, he went head-to-head against his most-recent former team, and will complete the cycle of awkwardness on Wednesday night when he returns to South Philly.

Considering Harden’s stint with the Sixers was short-lived, and didn’t meet the expectations of fans, who were hopeful the ten-time All-Star would help deliver a title to the City of Brotherly Love, it’s difficult to imagine Harden will be welcomed with open arms on Wednesday night.

Being a longtime NBA superstar, Harden has seen everything on the road. He’s received mass love from fans and collected his fair share of boos as well. And when it comes to facing a former team in an arena he used to call home, Harden has done that a handful of times already.

At this point, those experiences have allowed Harden to carry a mindset that has him focused on the bigger picture of Wednesday’s game. Admittedly, Harden isn’t sure what to expect from Philly fans on Wednesday. And according to the star ball-handler, he isn’t worried about it.

“I don’t care,” Harden told reporters, according to Clutch Points’ Tomer Azarly. “We got bigger problems to worry about. … We have bigger problems than me worried about Philadelphia, you know what I mean? We got bigger problems.”

Over the last ten games, the Clippers have four wins. In their previous two outings, against the Indiana Pacers and the Sixers, Harden and his team found themselves on the wrong end of a lopsided loss.

Wednesday serves up a potentially distraction-filled setting for Harden, but he’s not willing to feed into it. With the playoffs around the corner, and the Clippers bound to punch their ticket to the postseason in the coming weeks, Harden and his team have to fine-tune everything before the games carry more pressure.

The Philly crowd, on the other hand, will do everything they can to keep Harden off his game in order to help the home team continue to make a playoff push of their own.