MINNEAPOLIS, MINN.–Everywhere new Philadelphia 76ers star James Harden has been in his career, there have been questions about how he is as a teammate. There have been reports that he doesn’t play nice with others and that he is just a bad guy to be around.
In his early days with the Sixers, Harden has been a very good teammate and he has been a positive influence on his teammates in Philadelphia. He and star big man Joel Embiid went at it in practice on Thursday and the two of them seem to be growing some good chemistry early which is very important for them going forward.
“It’s funny, you see all the stories that have happened and all that stuff and I’m just sitting here,” Embiid said at shootaround on Friday. “We all see it, it’s completely different than what you see out there. He’s a great person. He’s always smiling, he’s fun to be around. His presence on the team and on the floor has really changed a lot since he got here so I’m just excited for that to continue on the court. I think it’s gonna help us a lot.”
With that being said, the Sixers have 24 games to get this down before the playoffs begin. Philadelphia will have a lot of things to figure out before the real games begin in mid-April.
“I don’t think it’ll take long,” Embiid added. “He’s a great basketball player, obviously, but I think he’s also very smart. At the end of the day, it starts at the top. We gotta want it, I gotta want it, he’s gotta want it, and the other guys will then follow.”
The Harden addition means the Sixers have their eyes on a title. The expectations were high before he got there, but with the Ben Simmons situation combined with the rest of the roster led by Embiid, a title seemed a bit out of reach. Not anymore.
“It sets expectations even higher than they were before,” the big fella finished. “There’s a lot of pressure on everybody so I’m excited. I’m excited for everybody to play at another level, especially me, so I think it’s gonna be fun.”
This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
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