Getty Joel Embiid #21 and James Harden #1 of the Philadelphia 76ers during play against the Miami Heat in Game Six of the 2022 NBA Playoffs Eastern Conference Semifinals at Wells Fargo Center on May 12, 2022 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
There has been a great deal of attention paid to the finances of James Harden this offseason. The Philadelphia 76ers‘ star guard elected to take a pay cut and opt-out of his $47.4 million player option to give the team more financial flexibility. This allowed the Sixers to bring in notable rotation additions such as P.J. Tucker, Montrezl Harrell, and Danuel House. While Harden deserves a ton of credit for making this team-first decision, in fact, he has admitted he does not think it has been acknowledged enough, it is clear he is doing fine in the financial department.
According to recent rankings from Sportico, Harden found himself ranked 8th among all NBA players in the top annual earners:
Top annual earners in the NBA:
LeBron James – $119.5M
Stephen Curry – $93.1M
Kevin Durant – $91M
Giannis Antetokounmpo – $86.5M
Russell Westbrook – $72.1M
Klay Thompson – $61.6M
Damian Lillard – $59.5M
James Harden – $52M
Paul George – $51M
John Wall – $47.9M
Harden’s Off-Court Endevears
The three-time scoring champion and 2018 MVP has never been one to stay in the box of just being a basketball player. He has caused some waves with his shocking fashion choices, hangs out with countless celebrities and musicians, and has been known to relax at some of the more well-known nightlife locations.
Harden also has a variety of business involvements off the court which have contributed to his wealth. He has been one of the faces of Adidas since 2015 and signed a 13-year contract worth as much as $200 million. Harden also has an equity stake in Bodyarmour which earned a sizeable payout when the company was purchased by Coca-Cola in 2021. He also has a 15% ownership stake in the Houston Dynamo in the MLS. Companies like GoPuff, Vanguard, Therabody, Block Inc, and Pura are also listed as sponsors of the superstar.
This all goes on top of the NBA paycheck he receives which he is still doing just fine in. He may have decided to opt-out of the $47.4 million player option, but the Sixers still found room under the salary cap to ink Harden to a two-year deal worth $68.6 million in total.
Harden’s On-Court Play
It is admirable to see the way Harden has built up generational wealth already in his career, but Sixers fans will be more concerned with his on-court performance when the season kicks off. There have been some positive signs coming out of the preseason as the superstar looks to regain some of his burst and ability to create separation moving forward.
It has been an adjustment for Harden who has never played with a big man as talented nor as ball dominant as Joel Embiid. The offense is built around the elite shot creation of the two stars. In their limited time together last season they were the number-one ranked pick-and-roll duo. This will continue to be the crux of the Sixers’ offense with additions like Tucker making it even more dynamic. Look at this play from preseason where Tucker serves as the roll man and creates an open three-pointer for Tyrese Maxey- who shot 57.6% on corner three-point attempts last season.
James Harden & PJ Tucker setting up a Tyrese Maxey three 🤯😁🔥
What a play! (via @sixers)
There has been a great deal of attention paid to Harden’s scoring ability, but his playmaking will continue to be the most important part of his game. Harden is the only natural playmaker on the Sixers roster and up there with the most talented players in this area of all time. He is one of just seven players in NBA history to lead the league in both scoring and passing throughout their career. While his body may have taken a step back, his basketball IQ has continued to grow.
If Harden can keep up this elite level of playmaking while becoming slightly more efficient in his scoring, the Sixers will be satisfied with his play. At times the criticism is overblown for a player who still averaged 21.0 points, 10.5 assists, and 7.1 rebounds per game last year. Considering the growth of Maxey and the high-level play of Embiid, there will be nights where Harden being the third-best player on the Sixers is completely fine.
The two-year contract also has a player option listed as the second season, so don’t be surprised if similar contract negotiations occur next off-season. With a full offseason to get healthy and in better shape, his play could demand a greater payout moving forward. Harden put the team first heading into this season but he may be looking to climb up the annual earnings list in 2023-24.