Sixers’ James Harden Waiting to ‘Trigger’ Player Option: Report

James Harden

Getty James Harden will wear No. 1 when he debuts for the Philadelphia 76ers next week.

The Philadelphia 76ers are hoping to get James Harden on the basketball court for Tuesday’s game against Boston. Sixers president Daryl Morey welcomed the 10-time All-Star to town on Saturday and he’s waiting to get clearance from team doctors on hamstring tightness in his left leg.

Harden, who was traded in exchange for Ben Simmons, has already been greeted to a hero’s welcome in Philly. The Beard has appeared on highway billboards on I-95 as sports merchandise stores race to stock his No. 1 jersey.

Everyone is excited for Harden’s arrival, especially Joel Embiid. The Sixers instantly jumped up in the minds of odds-makers to win a championship this year. They currently own the No. 5 seed in the Eastern Conference with a record of 34-22.

“It’s James Harden — one of the best players in the league, MVP. It’s pretty exciting,” Embiid told reporters, via NBC Sports Philadelphia. “Just excited. You talk about guys that I’ve played with, he’s probably gonna be the best yet, based on what he’s accomplished in his career so far.”

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Harden Still Needs to Opt In for 2023: Report

One of the biggest sticking points of the Harden trade was whether he had opted into his $47.3 million player option for the 2022-23 season. The Athletic’s Shams Charania reported that he had inked the option, and everyone breathed a huge sigh of relief upon hearing that news.

Wait a minute. Maybe not. According to Kyle Neubeck of Philly Voice, Harden hasn’t opted into anything and has to wait until the end of the of the year to do so. That would seem to refute Charania’s report, although it’s all semantics in the long run. Harden and the Sixers are “feeling good” about where they stand, per Neubeck.


Joel Embiid Continues to Dominate: MVP Candidate

Sixers center Joel Embiid once again showed why he is the leading candidate for NBA MVP on Saturday night. He finished with his fourth triple-double of the year during a 103-93 win over Cleveland: 40 points, 10 assists, 14 rebounds.

More impressively, Embiid became the first Sixers player to record a 40-point triple-double since Wilt Chamberlain did it in 1968. He has now scored 831 points in 823 minutes over his past 25 games, according to ESPN Stats & Info. Amazing.

“At this point I mean, 40? Yeah, I mean I’m not even surprised at this point,” Sixers guard Tyrese Maxey said. “He’s phenomenal and I try extremely hard not to take it for granted. You know it’s because we see it consistently, every single night, you know his greatness.”

Embiid wowed the crowd late in the second quarter when he missed a free throw only to have Georges Niang rebound the ball and get it back to the 7-footer. He shuffled a few steps forward, then took flight from just inside the free-throw line for a windmill dunk that brought back memories of Michael Jordan in the 1987 Slam Dunk Contest.

“It’s good that it happened with a win,” Embiid said. “Obviously, Wilt [Chamberlain], he’s got all the records. But, it’s good. Gotta keep going. That’s who have to be and that’s how dominant I have to be.”

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