James Harden's Thoughts on Personal Success vs. Bucks

Philadelphia 76ers guard James Harden put the NBA on notice last year when his team was knocked out of the playoffs in round two. As the basketball world believed Harden was on the decline, the ten-time All-Star continually sent out a reminder that with a healthy offseason, he would return to his standard form.

“I’m able to work like I’m always able to work,” said Harden. “Then, in that case, the results happen on the court.”

Throughout the offseason and the days leading up to training camp, Harden constantly talked about how much better he felt going into his first full season with the Sixers. While Harden’s preseason inspired little hope that he’d return to his dominant scoring ways, the star guard was ready to change the narrative in the regular season.

In the first outing against the Boston Celtics on Tuesday night, Harden drained over 60 percent of his shots and produced 35 points. On Tuesday night against the Milwaukee Bucks, Harden hit on over 50 percent of his shots and put up 31 points.

There is a lot of basketball left to be played, but so far, Harden looks like an MVP version of himself. And the ten-time All-Star simply credits his work ethic for getting him back there.

“I’m a workaholic,” said Harden. “Just not being able to put the work in like I normally do was frustrating. This summer, I had an opportunity to, and then even up until this point, I feel really good. I’m just continuing to put in the work and live with the results. That’s what I live by. A lot of people don’t see the work that I put in. This scoring ability and all this other stuff doesn’t come without work. So, as much as people want to talk about all of the other stuff that doesn’t really matter, I’m a workaholic, and I love to be in the gym, and I love to play basketball, so I’ll continue to do that.”

Harden’s personal success through two games this year hasn’t translated to victories. Although he’s averaged over 30 points and roughly ten assists through two games, the Sixers are winless. Therefore, Harden isn’t going to bask in the solo glory because he seems to be back on track.

“It’s not even about the individual,” he explained. “The individual is great, and I’ll do whatever it takes for the betterment of this team, but I think all of us need to be playing at a high level. I think that’s a part of my job.”

The Sixers’ star trio of Harden, Joel Embiid, and Tyrese Maxey hasn’t clicked as one quite yet. While Embiid and Maxey had small flashes in the first two games, the Sixers have ultimately relied on Harden’s success as they faced the Celtics and the Bucks.

“Difficult, man,” Harden continued. “We’re 0-2, and we need to play better, but this is a long year. I mean, if we weren’t playing well, but we were winning, we wouldn’t be happy either. So you know, we just gotta lock in and be more engaged on both ends of the ball.”

With two tough games out of the way, the Sixers won’t dwell on the losses to the Cs and the Bucks. They now have to shift their focus over to San Antonio as they head back to the court on Saturday, searching for their first win of the year. As always, Philadelphia will rely on its star guard to steer the offense, but the entire cast needs to play its part as well for the Sixers to pick themselves up their first victory. 

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for All76ers, a Sports Illustrated channel. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.