James Harden left flabbergasted as fans buy 10,000 bottles of his wine in 10 seconds on Chinese influencer's livestream
After a four-year absence, James Harden’s return to China has been sensational, staggering in some ways. He was greeted by hundreds of fans upon his arrival and has been having a blast.
The wantaway Philadelphia 76ers superstar recently appeared on Chinese influencer Xiao Yang’s live stream to partly promote J-Harden, the player’s wine.
Harden’s brand became available in leading US retailers on September 1, 2022. Based on reports, his brand has been doing quite well. What happened in China, however, dwarfed what his new business has accomplished so far.
James Harden was stunned when 10,000 bottles were sold in just 10 seconds.
“The Beard” and Yang had to communicate via an interpreter. Harden couldn’t contain his disbelief when he blurted out:
“No way!”
J-Harden is made up of the new Italian Prosecco, California Cabernet Sauvignon and California Red Blend. All were quickly sold out long before Harden had time to process what had just happened.
It is not lost on anyone that James Harden’s wine promotion and other events in China were timed with his lambasting of Daryl Morey. The current Philadelphia 76ers president of basketball operations isn’t the most popular person in China after he supported Hong Kong supporters in 2020.
During that time, the Houston Rockets, Harden and Morey’s team before, were in the said country for a few preseason games. The backlash was so severe that Harden offered an apology for Morey’s since-deleted comments.
Recently, the 10x All-Star ripped Daryl Morey in front of hundreds of fans by calling him a “liar.” Despite recently opting into the final year of his contract, he vowed never to play for an organization that Morey was a part of. Harden’s bold statement was greeted with appreciative enthusiasm.
Given how his wines were taken off the shelves, it’s clear that the fans were wildly excited with his comments. The decision not to play for the Philadelphia 76ers again was also welcomed with a grand show of appreciation.
The truth about what happened between James Harden and Daryl Morey could be somewhere in the middle
Last July 2022, James Harden agreed to a two-year $68.6 million deal with the Philadelphia 76ers with a player option for next season. He took a significant pay cut to allow Daryl Morey the opportunity to build a championship-contending team around him and Joel Embiid.
Harden’s decision helped Morey sign P.J. Tucker and De’Anthony Melton. The Sixers, however, still couldn’t get out of the second round, ironically, due to another Harden disappearing act.
If Morey promised a new and bigger contract but reneged on it, the executive might not recover from it. Morey could have also backed out on a promise to trade Harden when the Sixers couldn’t get the return they expected. If that had also been true, then Philly’s front office will be in hot water.
There have been speculations about what James Harden and his agent understood and interpreted and what the team wanted. The truth could be somewhere in the middle.
Harden reportedly vowed that his tirade in China was just the beginning. Things could get more nasty as training camp nears.