76ers vs. Blazers: James Harden's Playing Status on Sunday

Will James Harden play against the Trail Blazers on Sunday?

With their first slate of games for the 20232-2024 NBA season wrapping up, the Philadelphia 76ers are still waiting on the season debut of their ten-time All-Star guard, James Harden.

When the Sixers take the court for night two of a back-to-back set after facing the Toronto Raptors on the road Saturday night, the team will once again be Harden-less.

By now, the Harden saga is well-documented. Despite the overwhelming assumption that Harden would hit the free agency market with the intent of potentially leaving the 76ers, the star guard picked up his player option for the 2023-2024 season.

However, Harden planned to secure his salary for the season while hoping for a change of scenery still. The Los Angeles Clippers and the Sixers held trade talks throughout the offseason, but they couldn’t complete a deal.

A frustrated Harden called out the Sixers’ front office and even skipped multiple team events to begin offseason activities. The training camp holdout ended early for Harden, who returned to the 76ers on day two. Despite participating in numerous practices throughout the preseason, Harden failed to take the floor for the 76ers during the four-game schedule.

For ten days, Harden relocated to Houston due to personal reasons unknown. When he returned to the 76ers earlier this week, he planned to join the team on its trip, which was set to begin in Milwaukee. Despite multiple attempts to convince the Sixers he’s ready, the team agreed it would be best to hold training sessions for Harden in Camden, New Jersey, so he could ramp up and get in better shape for his potential season debut.

Harden was out for the Sixers’ matchups against the Milwaukee Bucks and the Toronto Raptors. Tyrese Maxey took over ball-handling duties in Harden’s absence, with De’Anthony Melton getting elevated to the starting five. 

While Harden’s league-leading assist production and solid scoring were certainly needed in the past, the Sixers evened their record at one with some stellar point guard play by Tyrese Maxey. In the loss against Milwaukee, Maxey produced 31 points and eight assists, with turnovers non-existent.

In the matchup against Toronto, Maxey lit it up from beyond the arc, drilling seven of his nine threes scoring 34 points. The young guard added seven assists to his performance with only one turnover. The Sixers collected their first victory of the year, downing the Raptors 114-107.

When the Sixers encouraged to get on a ramp-up plan for debuting, there was no clear timeline in place for his potential return to the floor. By missing Sunday’s game against the Blazers, Harden’s next chance to compete will come next Thursday, when the Sixers host the Raptors for a rematch.