The James Harden-Joel Embiid duo for the Philadelphia 76ers wasn’t together for a long time, but their production on the floor was fantastic. Harden was the perfect complement for Embiid as his wizardry with the ball as a playmaker made the game so much easier for everybody involved.
In the 2022-23 season, Harden averaged a league-leading 10.7 assists and helped Embiid win the MVP award. The duo was almost unstoppable as the two of them played off each other so well in Philadelphia.
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However, after Harden was traded to the Los Angeles Clippers, things seemed to go sour between the two of them. When Harden made his return to Philly in March of 2024, he was asked if he still talks to Embiid with which he simply replied: “No.” Then, Embiid told ESPN that he doesn’t know why he and Harden don’t talk anymore.
However, it appears that the respect is still there for the big fella as Harden was recently asked to put together his all-time teammate starting lineup and Embiid was included in it. It’s high praise when considering the players that The Beard has played with in his career.
The Harden and Embiid era didn’t produce much playoff success–though they were very close to the Eastern Conference finals in 2023 before blowing a 3-2 lead to the Boston Celtics–but they were highly productive. The Sixers were able to lean on those two for a lot of their success.
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This article originally appeared on Sixers Wire: James Harden includes Sixers’ Joel Embiid in all-time teammate lineup