James Harden, ‘Unselfish Sixer’? Houston Rockets Never Met The Guy

“This is how bad I want to win. I want to compete for a championship. That’s all that matters to me at this stage.” - James Harden.

James Harden is being lauded for heading back to the Philadelphia 76ers after agreeing to a new two-year deal that sees him taking a massive pay cut.

The “Unselfish Sixer”? Who knew?

Certainly not fans of one of his previous teams, the Houston Rockets.

Harden, the immensely gifted 32-year-old scorer, manipulated his way out of Houston at the start of the 2021 with a series of painful selfish actions (allegedly) favoring attending Houston’s finest strip clubs over attending Houston’s practices … and then, when he did show, appearing so out of shape that wondered if he’d tucked a couple of basketballs into the front of his uniform.

But now he is taking a notable pay cut to remain with the contenting Sixers?

Harden, a 10-time All-Star, has done a two-year deal worth $68 million to stay with the Sixers, well below the maximum amount he could’ve earned in Philadelphia. He previously declined his $47.4 million player option for the 2022–23 season and now will return to the team after taking a $15 million pay cut.

Now, along the way, he did voice his roster-building opinion to Sixers boss Daryl Morey (another ex-Houstonian) … and maybe Harden got his way there.

“I had conversations with Daryl, and it was explained how we could get better and what the market value was for certain players,” Harden told Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports. “I told Daryl to improve the roster, sign who we needed to sign and give me whatever is left over.”

And why?

“This is how bad I want to win. I want to compete for a championship. That’s all that matters to me at this stage. I’m willing to take less to put us in position to accomplish that.”

Ah, James Harden, “The Unselfish Sixer” … Houston hardly knew ye.