“Even James Harden isn’t talking to me”: Joel Embiid reveals emotional fallout of his fractured bond with 11x NBA All-Star

Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid explained the reason behind his fractured relationship with his former teammate James Harden.

Harden played one and a half seasons with Philadelphia. However, Harden had a messy exit with the team in 2023. In an article by ESPN’s Dotun Akintoye on Wednesday, Embiid revealed the reason why he thinks his bond with the 11-time NBA All-Star has been stained.

“No one knows this, but even James is not talking to me,” Embiid said. “That’s the part I don’t like about being ‘that guy,’ because it puts you in the middle of those situations. Because if you ask James, he probably believes I had something to do with him not being here.

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"And I'm just like, 'I won the scoring title. You won the assists title. We had a pick-and-roll that was unstoppable.' ... It hurts when you feel like you haven't done anything wrong. When you think you have a relationship like that with somebody... you lose a lot."

Embiid did not specify when Harden stopped talking to him. The 35-year-old guard requested a trade following the 2022-23 season. He was shipped in November 2023 to the LA Clippers.

The Sixers acquired the three-time scoring champion from the Brooklyn Nets at the 2022 NBA trade deadline in a deal that also involved Ben Simmons. The arrival of Harden, the 2018 MVP, in Philadelphia catapulted the team to championship contenders anew. In the lone full season of the Embiid-Harden duo in 2022-23, Embiid was named the league MVP.

In 79 regular-season games in a Sixers uniform, Harden averaged 21.0 points, 10.6 assists and 5.7 rebounds on 43.1% shooting, including 37.0% from 3-point range. However, Philly was eliminated in the Eastern Conference semifinals in back-to-back seasons.

James Harden once called Sixers exec Daryl Morey a "liar"

James Harden's exit with the Philadelphia 76ers was messy, to say the least. The former league MVP became disgruntled with the team and Sixers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey for the lack of a long-term maximum-level contract offer.

In August of 2023, Harden publicly called Morey a "liar" during a media event with Adidas in China.

"Daryl Morey is a liar and I will never be a part of an organization that he's a part of," Harden said. "Let me say that again: Daryl Morey is a liar and I will never be a part of an organization that he's a part of."

The ramifications of Harden's rocky divorce with the Sixers are felt to this day. And despite a fruitful pairing with Joel Embiid on the court, Harden's relationship with his former teammate has stagnated.

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Kim Daniel Rubinos

Kim is an editor for US Sports and an NBA and WNBA analyst at Sportskeeda with a decade of multi-industry experience. He has a master's degree in business administration and a bachelor's degree in finance.

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