Joel Embiid Fires a Massive James Harden Warning to the League

If anyone knows how to dominate in the NBA, it’s James Harden. The former MVP is an elite playmaker and shot-creator in the league. In fact, evidence of his shot creation could be seen during his days as a member of the Houston Rockets, while his playmaking ability came alive this season as a part of the Brooklyn Nets.

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But on the trade deadline day of the 2021-22 NBA season, the ‘Beard’ packed his bags and set sail for Philadelphia. The trade involved Harden joining forces with Joel Embiid on the 76ers, while Ben Simmons became a part of the Brooklyn Nets. In light of Harden’s arrival, Joel Embiid sent a warning to the rest of the NBA. He shed light on Harden’s role and capabilities on the 76ers.

Joel Embiid on James Harden

In a recent interview with Scott Van Pelt, Joel Embiid spoke about the impact that James Harden would have on the 76ers. Embiid explained that James Harden, being a former MVP of the league, can still play at a high level and bring an additional dimension to the team’s offense. Thereafter, he credited Harden for being a top-class shot-creator.

“He’s James Harden. You know MVP. We know what he’s done in the league in the past, and I still believe that he can play at that level,” said Embiid.

“He adds another dimension to our offense. Just being a playmaker and getting guys wide open, and obviously is one of, maybe the best shot creator in league history,” he explained.

“So we’re gonna try to take advantage of that and put him in positions where he can succeed and then also he can help the rest of the team,” he added.

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Clearly, it is evident that Embiid and the 76ers aim to use Harden as a scorer and a distributor. A sort of combination of the roles he played in Houston and Brooklyn. And he’s very much capable of this. In fact, in the 2016-17 season, he played exactly the same role on the Rockets as he averaged 29.1 points per game and 11.2 assists.

However, we still have to wait another 8 days until we get to see the ‘Beard’ in action. There’s plenty of excitement around how he will team up with Joel Embiid. Is he going to Philly’s number one, or will Embiid remain the frontman? We’ll have to wait and find out during the Sixers’ game against the Timberwolves on February 25th.