James Harden is ready for his first full season with the Philadelphia 76ers, and he thinks he’s as talented now as he’s ever been.
Despite what Harden was able to accomplish through the first thirteen seasons of his career, critics often called his status into question. This was reinforced by a spate of nagging injuries that affected his movement during his short stint with Brooklyn and early in his stint in Philadelphia.
When asked about his “amazing shape” during a media day interview with SiriusXM NBA Radio entering this year’s training camp, Beard said, “My conditioning, my skill set, my IQ, and the work I’ve put in is MVP.”
Harden believes he will return to MVP form this season as he has been injury free in recent years.
“Football is unplayable. You know what I mean?” Harden said. “Fortunately, I’ve never had a major injury in my life in general. The last two winters with the epidemic, it was all recovery. All rehabbing and doing stuff. Now I get a whole winter where I can play pickup. Working out and playing pickup and playing basketball are completely different things.
Although Harden has only won one MVP, he was the first runner-up on three separate occasions and finished third in MVP voting as recently as 2020. Harden averaged 29.6 points and 7.7 points per game in 9 seasons with the Houston Rockets. Assists per game, and 6.0 rebounds per game.
If Harden can combine that production with MVP runner-up Joel Embiid and Philly’s mix of talent including Tyrese Maxey, Tobias Harris and PJ Tucker, Philadelphia will be a strong contender in the 2022-2023 campaign.
