(Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images)
One could argue that the Philadelphia 76ers had one of the best versions of James Harden.
While he wasn’t the same explosive scorer he was during his days with the Houston Rockets, it was the first time that he actually played for the team and not himself — at least for a while.
But that didn’t last long, and it may have cost Doc Rivers his job, at least according to Rivers.
In his recent appearance on the “Dan Patrick Show,” Rivers jokingly admitted that he had a brutally honest relationship with the former MVP Harden, which is perhaps why he’s now doing TV work.
“Our relationship, it was an honest one. It’s probably why I’m doing TV.”
-Doc Rivers details his relationship with James Harden, and shares at what point things changed for James last season#brotherlylove pic.twitter.com/Jg0KpWy04T
— Dan Patrick Show (@dpshow) October 25, 2023
On a more serious note, Rivers did state that he felt like Harden not making the All-Star team despite an impressive first half of the season really got to him, and it was the breaking point in which the old habits appeared again.
Rivers claimed that the Sixers had the best record in the league during a 20-game stretch with Harden as the point guard, and then he asked him to play more with the second unit.
The former coach knew right away that Harden wanted to take more shots and drive more, and while he let him know that he wasn’t on board with that, he still allowed him to do it, which led to a bit of a debacle.
At the end of the day, Harden has always been his own worst enemy.
And even though he was and is one of the best players in the league, Harden is at risk of not winning the greatest accolade of all – an NBA championship.
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