Image Credit: Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports

“It Hurts When You Feel Like….”-Joel Embiid Opens Up on his Strained Relationship with Clippers Star James Harden

Embiid and Harden were once considered as one of the most promising duos in the NBA.

Image Credit: Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports

Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid opened up about his strained relationship with former teammate and Los Angeles Clippers’ James Harden. Harden and Embiid were known as the heart of the 76ers’ championship hopes and it all began in 2022 when Harden joined the Sixers. They both were expected to create one of the most dominating duos of the league. Not only this, soon they started to display their camaraderie in public and became close friends.

However, soon cracks started to form behind the scenes and things got bad when Harden was involved in a feud with Sixers’ President Daryl Morey. Harden was traded to the Clippers and since then Embiid tried to reach out to him, but couldn’t get through. Talking about his strained friendship with his former teammate, the 2023 MVP told ESPN, “No one knows this, but even James [Harden] is not talking to me. That’s the part I don’t like about being ‘that guy,’ because it puts you in the middle of those situations.”

Embiid added, “Because if you ask James, he probably believes I had something to do with him not being here. 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.”

Following the breakup between the franchise and Harden, the Sixers have struggled. Not only this, but Embiid was also sidelined due to his injury and the team has clearly failed to regain the momentum they had earlier built.

Joel Embiid Reveals his Mindset he Followed in the League

Embiid revealed the mindset that followed him into the league and shaped how he approached the game and personality. The 31-year-old said, “If you ask my teammates now, they’ll tell you a way different story than my teammates a couple of years ago, because years ago, I was nowhere to be found.” Opening about his upbringing, he said, “I think it goes back to how I was raised. I don’t want to say lonely, but when I came to the States, I was alone. I always taught myself to not trust anybody.”

Notably, Embiid is a dominating name in the league with an MVP Award as well as numerous scoring titles. He has also been a consistent player and is on the cusp of reaching legendary status. However, due to multiple injuries and lack of the title, he has not been a fully active member of the conversations.

James Harden

Joel Embiid

Garima Ranawat

Garima is a sports writer with around two years of experience in Indian sports and a newfound interest in the NBA. Inspired by the leadership of cricketing legend MS Dhoni, she wishes to bring in newer perspectives to the NBA fanatics with her writing.