Tobias Harris Praises James Harden's Leadership With Sixers So Far

James Harden hasn't even stepped foot on the court with the Philadelphia 76ers yet, but he's already created a significant impact based on his presence alone.

James Harden hasn't even stepped foot on the court with the Philadelphia 76ers yet, but he's already created a significant impact based on his presence alone.

Although the Sixers came up way short against the Boston Celtics on Tuesday night in front of Harden for the first time, the team bounced back two nights later.

As Tobias Harris, Joel Embiid, and the Sixers took the floor to face the Milwaukee Bucks for the second time this season on Thursday, they were looking for revenge.

In the first outing between Milwaukee and Philadelphia, the Sixers didn't have Embiid on the court. As expected, the Bucks took advantage and dominated the 76ers back in early November.

On Thursday night, the Sixers put up a much better fight and James Harden received a lot of credit even though he didn't play at all.

“I’ve never played with James before so just being able to be around him for these couple days, he’s really encouraging to all the guys on the team," said Sixers forward Tobias Harris after Philadelphia's Thursday night win over the Bucks.

Throughout the matchup, Harden was spotted pulling teammates aside and giving them advice and motivation. That stood out to Tobias Harris, who has become one of the Sixers' key leaders over the last couple of years.

"You can see his leadership skills and being able to push us along and really see what he sees as a basketball player and how we can be better as a whole group," Harris continued. "I think that is gonna go a long way for our whole group."

Harden can only do so much from the sidelines, but considering his vocal leadership skills have already offered the Sixers a boost, Harris looks forward to seeing Harden bring everything to the table when he returns to the floor.

"Being out there playing as well and being able to run the show at the point guard position and putting people in the right positions and really, for us, it’s camaraderie," Harris finished. "That’s the big thing for our group and how we’ve been able to be successful up until the break now. When the break is over and we get back to it, that’s when we look to expand on all of it.”

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