Last night, as the Philadelphia 76ers entered the Rocket Mortgage Field in Cleveland, Ohio, they were met with a familiar face, their former superstar guard James Harden. The Beard joined the Sixers following his exit from the Brooklyn Nets back during the 2021-22 season. Shortly after, he inked a two-year deal with the storied franchise. So, you’d expect him to be happy to see his former teammates, right? Well, not quite.
At first, everything seemed great for James in Philadelphia as he developed a strong chemistry with Sixers center Joel Embiid. However, things took a turn when the franchise allegedly made false promises regarding a contract extension after his two-year deal, which included a player option for the final year, expired. Following this, James left the team to join the L.A. Clippers. According to Embiid, James has not spoken to him since then.
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Despite that, it was the Process who approached his former teammate last night. In a clip that has been circulating on the internet since last night, Embiid is seen approaching Harden from behind, shaking his hand, and even exchanging a few words. Although it’s hard to tell exactly what the big man said to the Cavs star, it seemingly had something to do with Harden being upset with Embiid.
“I know you mad at me, but I’ma say what’s up… I know, I know, just don’t be mad at me for it,” the former MVP appears to have told Harden after exchanging greetings with each other.
This comes just a few months after the 76ers center confessed that James Harden has not been talking to him ever since he left Philadelphia because he believes that Joel Embiid probably knew about the entire situation around his contract.
This is a bummer because even though the pair only shared the floor for a short while, they were almost unstoppable, as Embiid himself has said.
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In their only full season together as a duo in 2022-23, Joel Embiid put up 33.1 points and 10.2 rebounds, winning his maiden MVP title and his second scoring title. Meanwhile, James led the league in assists, averaging 10.7 per game. The duo was also the first pair of teammates to lead the NBA in scoring and assists in a season since George Gervin and Johnny Moore did so in the 1981–82 season. Furthermore, Embiid has denied having played any part in what happened with the Sixers. “No one knows this, but even James is not talking to me,” Embiid told ESPN. “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.”
Nonetheless, that’s all in the past as the two seemingly have reconciled, which might be a step toward rekindling their friendship. Meanwhile, James Harden put on a show and made history during his team’s 115-101 win over the 76ers.
James Harden leads the Cavs to a win while reaching a major career milestone
It was James Harden who stood out the most, with Joel Embiid watching from the sidelines last night. The veteran guard scored 21 points, along with 5 rebounds and 5 assists, to not only lead the Cleveland Cavaliers to yet another win since joining them recently, but to also make history while doing so, as he drilled a free throw late in the game to cross the 29,000-point mark. Harden finished the game with 29,017 points in 17 pro seasons, securing ninth place on the all-time scoring list.
Feb 9, 2026; Denver, Colorado, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard James Harden (1) during the second quarter against the Denver Nuggets at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images
This put Harden among an elite group of players who have reached this number. Only eight other players have scored 29,000 or more points in their careers, and only two of them are active right now in the NBA, LeBron James and Kevin Durant. This goes to show the greatness of the veteran guard’s game, and he’s also now just the second player with that many points and 8,000 assists.
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Thanks to James Harden’s performance, Cleveland and its fans have been buzzing with the win against the Sixers, which was their 18th in the last 24 games. This also improved the Wine & Gold’s home record since January to 8-1, with their only loss coming on last Sunday against a red-hot Boston side. Now, they shift their focus to Orlando, whom they face next away from home.
