PHILADELPHIA–On Feb. 10, 2022, the Philadelphia 76ers acquired James Harden from the Brooklyn Nets in a deal that sent Ben Simmons, Seth Curry, Andre Drummond, and picks to the Nets.
On Saturday, Harden will make his return to Brooklyn as he will play his first game against the Nets on the road since the deal.
Harden’s time in Brooklyn wasn’t long. He played 80 games across two seasons with the Nets and he didn’t play one full season with Brooklyn, but Saturday’s return is notable because of what he was a part of with the Nets.
He, Kevin Durant, and Kyrie Irving were expected to form a dominant Big 3 and bring the Nets their first championship in franchise history. Instead, the Nets won only one playoff series in 2021 before things went south in the 2021-22 season and Harden was traded to Philadelphia while Irving and Durant have been traded recently leaving just Simmons in Brooklyn.
After the Sixers knocked off the New York Knicks at home on Friday, Harden was asked to discuss his return to Brooklyn, but he is just focused on the basketball part of things.
“I don’t know,” said Harden. “I’m there for one reason and one reason only. To win a basketball game.”
While Harden is focused on keeping things simple and just wanting to win the game, all of the talk will be about his return to Brooklyn just because of everything the Nets were and expected to become whether he likes it or not.
Tipoff from the Barclays Center is set for 6 p.m. EST on Saturday.
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