Sixers Introduced James Harden as Bell Ringer for First Time

Before Tuesday night’s game against the Boston Celtics, the Philadelphia 76ers hosted two matchups with one game against the Oklahoma City Thunder and another against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Before Philly tipped off against the Thunder on Friday, the Sixers’ events crew rolled out the Liberty Bell replica for the honorary bell-ringing session. As Sixers’ in-arena announcer Matt Cord did his usual explanation of the bell-ringing meaning, fans stood up with their phones recording in hopes that Friday’s bell-ringer would be the newly-acquired superstar guard James Harden. It wasn’t.

The next day, it was revealed Harden officially arrived in Philadelphia. As the star guard was spotted getting off a plane and meeting with Sixers President of Basketball Operations Daryl Morey, it seemed there was a good chance Harden would ring the bell on Saturday night.

While Harden met with his teammates and took his physical on Saturday, he wasn’t present for the Sixers’ matchup against the Cavaliers. Therefore, he didn’t ring the bell then either.

Finally, on Tuesday, the Sixers made it all happen. After Harden went through two practice sessions with his new teammates between Monday and Tuesday and was formally introduced with a press conference on Tuesday afternoon, Harden finally made an appearance at the Wells Fargo Center as a member of the 76ers.

Ringing in the Matchup

Sixers fans anticipated Harden ringing the bell on Tuesday night ahead of the Boston Celtics matchup. This time around, they were right.

After the Sixers played a Harden hype-up video, the newest Sixers guard was introduced before the starting five. Harden, who was wearing street clothes, made his way out of the tunnel and rang the bell for the 76ers before they took on the Celtics.

While it would’ve been ideal for the Sixers to come away with a win while Harden watched from the bench for the first time, the 76ers suffered a bad blowout from the Celtics as they fell way short losing 135-87. 

They didn’t win without Harden again on Tuesday, but the Sixers are expecting to get the ten-time All-Star back in the mix very soon. He’s guaranteed to miss Thursday’s game in Milwaukee and will also sit out from the All-Star game. 

While Harden and the Sixers haven’t announced a return date, it seems Harden will be back in the mix as soon as the upcoming break is up. If that’s the case, he could be targeting a return against the Timberwolves in Minnesota on February 25. 

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