"We’re finally witnessing Joel Embiid; Who I think everybody thought he could potentially be, years ago" - James Harden discusses factors which make Joel Embiid elite
This will be the first full season the tandem of Joel Embiid and James Harden play together. Eight months after he was traded from the Brooklyn Nets, Harden will get a full opportunity to partner with Embiid to carry the Philadelphia 76ers' championship aspirations.
James Harden has played with superstars. He started his career playing alongside Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook with the Oklahoma City Thunder. Then he played with Dwight Howard initially and then paired up with Westbrook again. Harden also played with Durant and Kyrie Irving with the Nets.
But Harden believes that partnering with Embiid is an entirely different experience. According to the 2017-18 league MVP, Embiid is a multi-faceted talent who is only getting better. In a recent interview with 76ers reporter Lauren Rosen, Harden said:
"His versatility. It's rare. I don't think we've seen a big who's able to handle the basketball, shoot off the dribble from anywhere on the floor and just dominates the game on both ends of the ball in a very, very long time. He’s second to none. He’s one of one. And he continues to get better.
"We’re finally witnessing Joel Embiid – who I think everybody thought he could potentially be some years ago. These last few years he's been reaching that. He continues to get better in every aspect of the game of basketball.”
James Harden (@JHarden13) on what makes @JoelEmbiid special:
"He’s second to none. He’s one of one. And he continues to get better. We’re finally witnessing Joel Embiid - who I think everybody thought he could potentially be, years ago.” https://t.co/UiT1M25pQ3
James Harden also spoke about Joel Embiid off the court. The Beard said about his teammate:
"He's definitely a competitor in everything, not just basketball. He's a little bit more funnier that I thought he was. But overall, he's just a great guy. I think he gets life itself. He's definitely far from selfish, and he's one of those guys you need to get to know, you need to love. And then it makes even better to be on the same court as him."
James Harden believes Philadelphia 76ers got better in the offseason
James Harden also believes that the Philadelphia 76ers have addressed the gaps in their roster this offseason. According to Harden, the team is well-placed to make a long playoff run. Harden told Rosen:
"We had a sit-down and talked about the things that we were missing, the things that we needed to be able to give ourselves a legitimate chance of competing for a title. Everything happened so fast last year.
"This summer was an opportunity for us to fill every missing piece that we felt we were missing, and I think this summer we did that.
"Also, the growth of myself and Joel and Tyrese [Maxey] and Tobias [Harris] – everybody else on that roster – got better this summer.
"For us, it's just using the regular season to figure ourselves, to find ourselves as a collective unit and mentally and physically preparing ourselves to take on the challenge to go through a playoff season to where there's going to be some ups and some downs to show our character."