SI:AM | Here's What James Harden and Ben Simmons Are Saying

And some winter Olympians *hate* the cold.

Good morning, I’m Dan Gartland. I am not requesting a trade from Sports Illustrated. 

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Harden, Simmons speak for first time since trade

James Harden and Ben Simmons addressed the media in their new cities yesterday for the first times since the trade that rocked the NBA.

The last time Simmons spoke publicly was after the Sixers’ playoff loss to the Hawks in June. That series was also the last time he took the court, having sat out this season due to mental health concerns. Simmons said his mental state was not a result of his prolonged exit from Philadelphia:

“For me, the mental health has nothing to do with the trade. It was a bunch of things that I was dealing with as a person in my personal life that I don't really want to go into depth about. But I‘m here now. It‘s a blessing to be in an organization like this, and I’m just looking forward to getting back on the floor and building something great here.”

He added that there wasn’t one particular issue that led to him feeling like he needed to get out of Philly:

“It was just piled up ... a bunch things over the years to where I just knew I wasn’t myself and I need to get back into the place of being myself and being happy as a person. It wasn’t about the basketball, it wasn’t about the money, anything like that. You know I wanna be who I am and playing basketball at that [high] level and being myself.”

Meanwhile, Harden said that for him the trade is all about increasing his chances of winning a championship.

“For me, it made sense, man. It’s a time where I needed to be around guys that I know want to win, and know that they are willing to do whatever it takes to win, and the structure here is unbelievable.”

It’s easy to read that bolded line above and draw a connection to Kyrie Irving’s choosing to make himself unavailable for more than half of all Nets games, but Harden said Irving’s vaccination status impacted his desire to leave Brooklyn “very minimally, honestly”:

“Obviously me and Ky are really good friends. Whatever he’s going through or is still going through, that’s his personal preference. But it definitely did impact the team because originally, me, Kyrie and KD on the court and winning covers up a lot of that stuff. It was unfortunate that we played 16 games [together] out of whatever it was. It is what it is, but here in Philly is an opportunity that I’m looking forward to.”

Landing Harden makes the Sixers a serious title contender, and last night’s game against the Celtics was proof that Philly is in need of some serious help. Boston beat the Harden-less Sixers 135–87. Harden won’t make his debut with his new team until after the All-Star break. But that means that he has plenty of time to teach Joel Embiid his signature step-back jumper. Embiid tried the move in practice yesterday but got called for a travel when he tried it in the game.

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Photo Illustration by Dan Larkin; MARCO BERTORELLO/AFP/Getty Images

For today’s Daily Cover, Stephanie Apstein spoke with Winter Olympians (including one named Summer) who hate cold weather:

“‘I’m like, man, in 45 more seconds I’m gonna be warm,’ [luge competitor Summer Britcher] says. ‘As soon as I pull off, I can’t feel the cold, right? When you’re going, you don’t feel the cold. … You’re so in the zone and in the moment, on this super-hard ice—which is my favorite condition to slide on—and then the run ends, and I’m yelling cuss words about how cold it is and running to get my jacket.’”

Julie Kliegman explains why it’s wrong to question the sincerity of Ben Simmons’s mental health concerns. … Daryl Morey got his wish by finally acquiring James Harden, and now the pressure is on for the Sixers to win a title, Rohan Nadkarni writes. … The new episode of SI Weekly goes inside the trip to Cabo where Matthew Stafford became a Ram.

Around the sports world

The U.S. men’s hockey team was eliminated by Slovakia in a shootout. … GQ has a good profile of resurgent Bulls star DeMar DeRozan. … Charles Barkley says he’ll “probably” retire when his contract with TNT expires in two years. … Matt Harvey testified in court that he provided Percocet to late Angels teammate Tyler Skaggs. … The IOC is under fire for making U.S. snowboarder Julia Marino cover the Prada logo on her board, potentially causing her to crash and injure herself in a practice run. … The Duke–Wake Forest men’s game ended with a last-second put-back dunk and a full-court buzzer beater attempt that just missed. … The South Carolina men beat Ole Miss on a buzzer beater from half court.

The top 5…

… goals from yesterday’s men’s Champions League action:

5. Manchester City overwhelms the Sporting defense, and Riyad Mahrez finishes to open the scoring in the seventh minute

4. Raheem Sterling’s first touch sets up the assist to Bernardo Silva

3. Silva’s half-volley just below the crossbar

2. Sterling’s beautifully curled shot to make it 5–0

1. Kylian Mbappé’s stoppage-time winner for PSG against Real Madrid 

SIQ

On this day in 2005, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman announced the cancellation of the 2004–05 regular season due to the ongoing lockout. What was the major issue that caused the owners to lock out the players and led to protracted negotiations?

Check tomorrow's newsletter for the answer.

Yesterday’s SIQ: Who were the two drivers involved in the thrilling finish to the 1976 Daytona 500?

Answer: Richard Petty and David Pearson. (Pearson won the race.) The thrilling conclusion saw Petty and Pearson jockey for position over the final laps. Petty entered the last lap with a narrow lead. Pearson passed him on the backstretch and Petty immediately tried to re-pass. When Petty attempted to pull in front, he collided with Pearson, sending both cars spinning out of control. Petty’s car came to a rest near pit row with the engine stalled. Pearson kept his car running and slowly crossed the finish line.

Here’s how Sam Moses described the key element of the finish in the next week’s edition of Sports Illustrated:

“​[T]here was the difference in how the two drivers handled their wild spins. Pearson pushed in his clutch and kept his engine running; Petty did not. Pearson jammed the Mercury in gear and chugged across the finish line the winner. After a push by his crew, Petty coasted across for second place, jumped out of his car and stuck his head in Pearson's window and apologized.”

From the Vault: Feb. 16, 2004

Al Tielemans/Sports Illustrated

The 2003–04 St. Joseph’s Hawks men’s basketball squad was a very influential team for me. They were one of the most enjoyable teams to play with in the old March Madness 2005 PlayStation 2 game, thanks to the combination of standout guards Jameer Nelson (pictured above) and Delonte West. Both men would go on to play in the NBA (as did big man Dwayne Jones, who played 82 games over the course of five seasons). But it was what they did in college that really made an impact on me.

The Hawks finished the regular season undefeated at 27–0, the only team in the country to do so. (Stanford lost its regular-season finale on the road against Washington to finish 26–1.) Plenty of small schools—like Gonzaga and Villanova—turn into basketball powers, but St. Joe’s wasn’t among that upper crust of mid-majors. It had made its fair share of NCAA tournaments but suffered lengthy March Madness droughts as well. Here’s how SI’s Michael Bamberger described the school and the team in his cover story, contrasting them with the more stylish Stanford:

“St. Joe’s has a cramped campus that fronts suburban sprawl, a senior guard built like an 11th-grade fullback and a coach who looks like the guy down the street who gets his newspaper in his pajamas.”

I loved seeing this unlikely powerhouse—a Goliath disguised as David—run through the A-10 with their electric guard duo. It was proof that almost any college hoops team can catch lightning in a bottle and have a magical season.

The undefeated run ended in the Hawks’ first game of the conference tournament, where they were beaten by a Xavier team that eventually lost in the Elite Eight. But St. Joe’s still earned a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament, where it lost an Elite Eight thriller to Oklahoma State as Nelson’s step-back at the buzzer fell short.

Oh, by the way, Nelson’s 2-year-old son, Jameer Jr., who’s mentioned in Bamberger’s story? He’s now a junior at Delaware who dropped 30 points against James Madison on Monday.

Check out more of SI's archives and historic images at vault.si.com.