Doc Rivers Reflected on James Harden's Season Before Departure

For the past season and a half, Joel Embiid and James Harden have been the face of the Philadelphia 76ers, doing it with sheer dominance, with the pair even becoming the first teammates to lead the league in scoring and assists in the same season in over 40 years.

While their performances during the regular season more than backed up their claim to dominance, their postseason performances proved to work against it.

For the previous two seasons, the Philadelphia 76ers have reached the conference semifinals, only to be eliminated. In 2022, it was by the hands of the Miami Heat. In 2023, by the hands of the Boston Celtics in a grueling seven-game series.

Yet, this summer is more than important for the future of the partnership between the two MVPs, as Harden has a decision to make regarding his future, as his contract includes a player option for the 2023-24 season.

With the nature of the elimination, a 24-point blowout, including several poor performances from himself, Harden is understandably frustrated, which doesn't exactly bode well for the partnership.

Doc Rivers spoke on the 33-year-old's potential exit, as well as his time with the Sixers, explaining that it required him to play a different system than he was used to.

"James has a decision to make this summer, and he'll make it." said Rivers," I think he overall enjoyed being here. It's tough for him. We asked him to play a little different than he's always been accustomed to."

What Rivers could be referencing is that in his game plan, Harden wasn't the primary scoring option, with the veteran guard taking fewer shots than he did during his brief stint with the Brooklyn Nets and the Houston Rockets.

Regardless of the outcome of the previous two seasons, Rivers feels that Harden has only added to Philadelphia while being appreciative of the sacrifices he had to make along the way.

"I think he made us a better team. Unfortunately, at times, it wasn't always best for him, but he still did it, so you appreciate that as a coach," explained Rivers.

Declan Harris contributes to All76ers, a Sports Illustrated channel. You can follow him on Twitter: @DecIanH.

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