“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.”<\/em><\/p>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. <\/p>
Joel Embiid Reveals his Mindset he Followed in the League <\/h2>
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.” <\/em>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<\/em>.” <\/p>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.<\/p>\n
\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Embiid and Harden were once considered as one of the most promising duos in the NBA.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":74709,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_mux_skip_reasons":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[205,185],"class_list":["post-74707","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nba","tag-james-harden","tag-joel-embiid"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
“It Hurts When You Feel Like….”-Joel Embiid Opens Up on his Strained Relationship with Clippers Star James Harden - The Playoffs<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid opened up about his strained relationship with former teammate and Los Angeles Clippers’ James Harden.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/joel-embiid-opens-up-on-his-strained-relationship-with-clippers-star-james-harden\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"“It Hurts When You Feel Like….”-Joel Embiid Opens Up on his Strained Relationship with Clippers Star James Harden - The Playoffs\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid opened up about his strained relationship with former teammate and Los Angeles Clippers’ James Harden.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/joel-embiid-opens-up-on-his-strained-relationship-with-clippers-star-james-harden\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Playoffs\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-07-17T13:11:19+01:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/It-Hurts-When-You-Feel-Like\u2026.-Joel-Embiid-Opens-Up-on-his-Strained-Relationship-with-Clippers-Star-James-Harden.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1297\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"864\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Garima Ranawat\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@ThePlayoffsEN\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@ThePlayoffsEN\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Garima Ranawat\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"NewsArticle\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/joel-embiid-opens-up-on-his-strained-relationship-with-clippers-star-james-harden\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/joel-embiid-opens-up-on-his-strained-relationship-with-clippers-star-james-harden\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Garima Ranawat\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/836e085ab6bd36f6fdaeeb3d8a1bf236\"},\"headline\":\"\u201cIt Hurts When You Feel Like\u2026.\u201d-Joel Embiid Opens Up on his Strained Relationship with Clippers Star James Harden\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-07-17T12:11:12+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-07-17T12:11:19+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/joel-embiid-opens-up-on-his-strained-relationship-with-clippers-star-james-harden\/\"},\"wordCount\":456,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/joel-embiid-opens-up-on-his-strained-relationship-with-clippers-star-james-harden\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/cdn.theplayoffs.news\/en\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/It-Hurts-When-You-Feel-Like\u2026.-Joel-Embiid-Opens-Up-on-his-Strained-Relationship-with-Clippers-Star-James-Harden.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"James Harden\",\"Joel Embiid\"],\"articleSection\":[\"NBA\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"copyrightYear\":\"2025\",\"copyrightHolder\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/#organization\"}},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/joel-embiid-opens-up-on-his-strained-relationship-with-clippers-star-james-harden\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/joel-embiid-opens-up-on-his-strained-relationship-with-clippers-star-james-harden\/\",\"name\":\"\u201cIt Hurts When You Feel Like\u2026.\u201d-Joel Embiid Opens Up on his Strained Relationship with Clippers Star James Harden - The Playoffs\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/joel-embiid-opens-up-on-his-strained-relationship-with-clippers-star-james-harden\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/joel-embiid-opens-up-on-his-strained-relationship-with-clippers-star-james-harden\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/cdn.theplayoffs.news\/en\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/It-Hurts-When-You-Feel-Like\u2026.-Joel-Embiid-Opens-Up-on-his-Strained-Relationship-with-Clippers-Star-James-Harden.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-07-17T12:11:12+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-07-17T12:11:19+00:00\",\"description\":\"Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid opened up about his strained relationship with former teammate and Los Angeles Clippers\u2019 James Harden.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/joel-embiid-opens-up-on-his-strained-relationship-with-clippers-star-james-harden\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/joel-embiid-opens-up-on-his-strained-relationship-with-clippers-star-james-harden\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/joel-embiid-opens-up-on-his-strained-relationship-with-clippers-star-james-harden\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/cdn.theplayoffs.news\/en\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/It-Hurts-When-You-Feel-Like\u2026.-Joel-Embiid-Opens-Up-on-his-Strained-Relationship-with-Clippers-Star-James-Harden.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/cdn.theplayoffs.news\/en\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/It-Hurts-When-You-Feel-Like\u2026.-Joel-Embiid-Opens-Up-on-his-Strained-Relationship-with-Clippers-Star-James-Harden.jpg\",\"width\":1297,\"height\":864,\"caption\":\"Image Credit: Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/joel-embiid-opens-up-on-his-strained-relationship-with-clippers-star-james-harden\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"\u201cIt Hurts When You Feel Like\u2026.\u201d-Joel Embiid Opens Up on his Strained Relationship with Clippers Star James Harden\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/\",\"name\":\"The Playoffs\",\"description\":\"Share passion for sports & betting\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/#organization\",\"name\":\"The Playoffs\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/selo-tp-2020-415x280-1.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/selo-tp-2020-415x280-1.webp\",\"width\":415,\"height\":280,\"caption\":\"The Playoffs\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/x.com\/ThePlayoffsEN\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/theplayoffs_en\/\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/836e085ab6bd36f6fdaeeb3d8a1bf236\",\"name\":\"Garima Ranawat\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/12e8a66133521114b6cb3d40b992116d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/12e8a66133521114b6cb3d40b992116d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Garima Ranawat\"},\"description\":\"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.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/author\/garima\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"“It Hurts When You Feel Like….”-Joel Embiid Opens Up on his Strained Relationship with Clippers Star James Harden - The Playoffs","description":"Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid opened up about his strained relationship with former teammate and Los Angeles Clippers’ James Harden.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/joel-embiid-opens-up-on-his-strained-relationship-with-clippers-star-james-harden\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"“It Hurts When You Feel Like….”-Joel Embiid Opens Up on his Strained Relationship with Clippers Star James Harden - The Playoffs","og_description":"Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid opened up about his strained relationship with former teammate and Los Angeles Clippers’ James Harden.","og_url":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/joel-embiid-opens-up-on-his-strained-relationship-with-clippers-star-james-harden\/","og_site_name":"The Playoffs","article_modified_time":"2025-07-17T12:11:19+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1297,"height":864,"url":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/It-Hurts-When-You-Feel-Like\u2026.-Joel-Embiid-Opens-Up-on-his-Strained-Relationship-with-Clippers-Star-James-Harden.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Garima Ranawat","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@ThePlayoffsEN","twitter_site":"@ThePlayoffsEN","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Garima Ranawat","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/joel-embiid-opens-up-on-his-strained-relationship-with-clippers-star-james-harden\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/joel-embiid-opens-up-on-his-strained-relationship-with-clippers-star-james-harden\/"},"author":{"name":"Garima Ranawat","@id":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/836e085ab6bd36f6fdaeeb3d8a1bf236"},"headline":"\u201cIt Hurts When You Feel Like\u2026.\u201d-Joel Embiid Opens Up on his Strained Relationship with Clippers Star James Harden","datePublished":"2025-07-17T12:11:12+00:00","dateModified":"2025-07-17T12:11:19+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/joel-embiid-opens-up-on-his-strained-relationship-with-clippers-star-james-harden\/"},"wordCount":456,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/joel-embiid-opens-up-on-his-strained-relationship-with-clippers-star-james-harden\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/cdn.theplayoffs.news\/en\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/It-Hurts-When-You-Feel-Like\u2026.-Joel-Embiid-Opens-Up-on-his-Strained-Relationship-with-Clippers-Star-James-Harden.jpg","keywords":["James Harden","Joel Embiid"],"articleSection":["NBA"],"inLanguage":"en-US","copyrightYear":"2025","copyrightHolder":{"@id":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/#organization"}},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/joel-embiid-opens-up-on-his-strained-relationship-with-clippers-star-james-harden\/","url":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/joel-embiid-opens-up-on-his-strained-relationship-with-clippers-star-james-harden\/","name":"\u201cIt Hurts When You Feel Like\u2026.\u201d-Joel Embiid Opens Up on his Strained Relationship with Clippers Star James Harden - The Playoffs","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/joel-embiid-opens-up-on-his-strained-relationship-with-clippers-star-james-harden\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/joel-embiid-opens-up-on-his-strained-relationship-with-clippers-star-james-harden\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/cdn.theplayoffs.news\/en\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/It-Hurts-When-You-Feel-Like\u2026.-Joel-Embiid-Opens-Up-on-his-Strained-Relationship-with-Clippers-Star-James-Harden.jpg","datePublished":"2025-07-17T12:11:12+00:00","dateModified":"2025-07-17T12:11:19+00:00","description":"Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid opened up about his strained relationship with former teammate and Los Angeles Clippers\u2019 James Harden.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/joel-embiid-opens-up-on-his-strained-relationship-with-clippers-star-james-harden\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/joel-embiid-opens-up-on-his-strained-relationship-with-clippers-star-james-harden\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/joel-embiid-opens-up-on-his-strained-relationship-with-clippers-star-james-harden\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/cdn.theplayoffs.news\/en\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/It-Hurts-When-You-Feel-Like\u2026.-Joel-Embiid-Opens-Up-on-his-Strained-Relationship-with-Clippers-Star-James-Harden.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/cdn.theplayoffs.news\/en\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/It-Hurts-When-You-Feel-Like\u2026.-Joel-Embiid-Opens-Up-on-his-Strained-Relationship-with-Clippers-Star-James-Harden.jpg","width":1297,"height":864,"caption":"Image Credit: Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/joel-embiid-opens-up-on-his-strained-relationship-with-clippers-star-james-harden\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"\u201cIt Hurts When You Feel Like\u2026.\u201d-Joel Embiid Opens Up on his Strained Relationship with Clippers Star James Harden"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/","name":"The Playoffs","description":"Share passion for sports & betting","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/#organization","name":"The Playoffs","url":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/selo-tp-2020-415x280-1.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/selo-tp-2020-415x280-1.webp","width":415,"height":280,"caption":"The Playoffs"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/x.com\/ThePlayoffsEN","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/theplayoffs_en\/"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/836e085ab6bd36f6fdaeeb3d8a1bf236","name":"Garima Ranawat","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/12e8a66133521114b6cb3d40b992116d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/12e8a66133521114b6cb3d40b992116d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Garima Ranawat"},"description":"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.","url":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/author\/garima\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74707"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/20"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=74707"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74707\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":74711,"href":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74707\/revisions\/74711"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/74709"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=74707"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=74707"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=74707"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}