2022-23 final Philadelphia 76ers player grades: James Harden
The 2022-23 season has ended for the Philadelphia 76ers following a Game 7 loss to the Boston Celtics in Round 2 of the playoffs and now is the time for reflection on the season.
The Sixers finished 54-28 and were third in the Eastern Conference behind only the Milwaukee Bucks and the Celtics in the standings. Considering the slow 12-12 start, the season was a success for the Sixers despite the sour and familiar ending.
Now that the season is in the books, now is the time to go back and give a grade to each player on the roster for what they did throughout the season. In this installment, Sixers Wire will look at the future Hall of Famer, James Harden.
Related
2022-23 final Sixers player grades: Joel Embiid
Harden's 2022-23 stats
21.0 points
10.7 assists
6.1 rebounds
1.2 steals
0.5 blocks
44.1% field goal percentage
38.5% 3-point field goal percentage
86.7% free-throw percentage
Harden's advanced stats
PER: 21.6
True shooting percentage: 60.7%
Assist percentage: 43.3%
Win shares: 8.4
Harden's contract
2023-24: $35.6 million (player option)
Thoughts
The demise of Harden was greatly exaggerated. Sure, he isn’t the same ruthless scorer he once was, but The Beard continues to be one elite playmaker while also going off and scoring when the time calls for it.
His average of 10.7 assists led the league, he shot a career-high from deep, and the pick-and-roll game between him and Joel Embiid was almost unstoppable out on the floor. He missed almost all of November due to a foot injury, but when he returned, there really wasn’t much slippage. He had himself one terrific season and he should have been an All-Star.
The playoffs were a bit up and down. Overall, he did average 20.3 points, 8.3 assists, and 6.2 rebounds while shooting 37.8% from deep, but the production in games went from one extreme to the other.
For example, he had 23 points in Game 1 of Round 1 against the Brooklyn Nets, but followed that up with just eight points on 3-for-13 shooting. He then shot 4-for-18 in the Game 4 clincher to sweep Brooklyn.
In Round 2 against the Boston Celtics, the swings were worse. He had 45 points in Game 1 and 42 points in Game 4, but he combined to shoot just 12-for-55 in their four losses in the series. It was a very odd postseason showing for Harden as he struggled to find the consistency he showed in the regular season.
Final grade: A-
