Beware buying into James Harden's honeymoon phase with the Philadelphia 76ers

Exactly 13 months after James Harden confirmed in his introductory news conference with the Brooklyn Nets that "they were on the top of my list" and the Houston Rockets helped him facilitate his preference, the 10-time NBA All-Star told reporters upon joining the Philadelphia 76ers, "Philly was my first choice."

Harden reported to training camp out of shape in 2020, and nine games into last season declared his Rockets "not good enough." His Houston teammates publicly described his behavior as disrespectful. That did not stop him from dubbing himself "an elite teammate" and "elite leader" upon first arriving in Brooklyn.

Harden again reported out of shape this past October, and it did not take him long to feud with his Brooklyn teammates. You saw how Kevin Durant handled Harden at the All-Star draft. That did not stop Harden from calling himself "one of the best teammates that the NBA has seen" upon arriving in Philadelphia, either.

In other words: Trusting Harden's hot start on the Sixers is to ignore everything we just saw on the Nets.

Harden's final four games on the Rockets were the longest stretch of his Houston tenure with 20 points or fewer. He bested that streak on the Nets in the first five games of this season and made several more runs at it until his final game for Brooklyn — an abysmal four-point effort in 37 minutes of a double-digit loss to the Sacramento Kings. He had never before scored so few points in so many minutes in his 13-year career.

He scored 26 points on 30 shot attempts, committed more turnovers (10) than he attempted free throws (9) and finished a -32 combined over his final two games on the Nets. In two games with the Sixers, Harden has scored 56 points on 26 shots, attempted 19 free throws and committed just five turnovers (against 28 assists) to finish +54. His five steals in Sunday's 16-point win over the New York Knicks are a a season high.

The three weeks Harden rested in between did wonders for his sore left hamstring.

If all this sounds familiar, it is because Harden made the exact same transformation from Houston to Brooklyn a year ago. He scored 36 points on 30 shots, committed as many turnovers (10) as he attempted free throws (10) and finished a -34 combined over his last two games on the Rockets. In his first two games for the Nets, Harden scored 66 points on 43 shots, attempted 21 free throws and committed 15 turnovers (against 26 assists) to finish +12. His four steals in his mid-January Brooklyn debut were a season high.

Harden also laughed off questions about his conditioning issues upon joining the Nets.

He was engaged in Brooklyn last season, to the point he declared himself the MVP in late March. A week later, Harden suffered the first in a series of injuries to his right hamstring. The issues ultimately cost him much of the final third of the regular season and the Nets their best shot at beating the Milwaukee Bucks. Months later, he was orchestrating his way from an organization that had just mortgaged its future for him.

So, just beware when Sixers star Joel Embiid declares his two-man game with Harden "unstoppable" two games into their partnership. Dwight Howard said the same about their pairing in Houston six years ago.

Watch Harden's media day availabilities after the Rockets acquired Howard in 2013, Chris Paul in 2017 and Russell Westbrook in 2019. He was "excited" at the prospect of each pairing. All three were going to take "the pressure of carrying an entire organization" off Harden. Howard's post presence would open the perimeter for him. Paul's ingenuity on the ball would alleviate his usage rate. Westbrook's pace would complement his deliberateness. Each worked for a spell. Harden made conference finals appearances with Howard and Paul before his partnership with Westbrook peaked with an 11-3 start to the 2019-20 season.

That is when Westbrook said of Harden, his childhood friend, "I think that a lot of people like to normalize greatness when you see it over and over again, but it's not normal because there's nobody else that can do it. If it was normal, everybody would do it. He's put himself in position to be one of the best offensive scorers of all time because of the way that he's able to score the ball at a high level in a variety of ways."

They only played 51 more games together before they no longer wanted to share the same team. Harden lasted 129 games with Paul before their relationship was "unsalvageable." Harden wanted Howard traded well before they played their 202nd and final game together. The windows only got shorter, culminating in Brooklyn, where Harden played just 16 games with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving before requesting a trade.

Howard wanted out of Houston because Harden's ball dominance did not mesh with his post play, and Harden wanted Howard out because the big man was not setting screens and protecting the rim for him. Paul wanted out of Houston because Harden would opt out of the action when he did not have the ball, and Harden wanted Paul out because the "Point God" would not acquiesce to his brand of basketball. Westbrook wanted out of Houston because he could not "play my game" alongside Harden, for whom there was no accountability, and Harden wanted out once the superstar exodus had rid the Rockets of all their assets.

Harden no longer speaks to Howard or Paul. Howard even considered retirement from the game after his 2015 Western Conference finals run with Harden, because "the joy was sucked out of it." Paul rediscovered his once he left the Rockets. Westbrook was not at peace in Houston. Eventually, everyone was unhappy, and there was one common theme — the breakdown in communication with Harden, whose insistence on succeeding on his own terms has generated a wealth of individual accolades and limited playoff prosperity.

According to Hall of Fame NBA reporter Marc Stein, Harden was "a brooding presence for months" before asking off the Nets, barely communicating with Durant. Irving reportedly "was eager to see" Harden gone. Like Harden's superstar teammates before them, Durant and Irving could easily draw a line from Harden's "late-night social activities" to his substandard performance. More ground Harden was unwilling to cede.

Funny how "one of the best teammates that the NBA has seen" cannot seem to find an elite one he can coexist with beyond a season or two. It is telling that Harden's most loyal relationship in the league belongs to former Rockets turned Sixers executive Daryl Morey, who has also long prioritized numbers to chemistry.

The pattern here is clear. The first two games of Harden's Sixers tenure are the onset of his honeymoon phase with Embiid, but adversity lies ahead. It always does. The 76ers are Embiid's team, Philadelphia is Embiid's city, and that has never been Harden's modus operandi. Ceding control would be a first for him, as would a trip to the NBA Finals, as would an on-court superstar relationship that stands the test of time.

The Sixers better hope this one holds up through the end of this season, when Harden can become an unrestricted free agent. He told ESPN's Malika Andrews prior to this season that he wanted to test the market. He also told her "it would be very, very difficult to leave" Brooklyn. That was only five months ago.

Harden missed the deadline to pick up his 2022-23 player option during this season. Philadelphia will offer him a four-year, $227 million extension on top of the $47 million he is owed next season. Should Harden sign that deal, which spans his 37th birthday, the Sixers will tie Embiid's prime to an aging superstar with a history of failed chemistry experiments. It is a monumental bet that this one yields a title before it, too, runs its course.

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Ben Rohrbach is a staff writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at rohrbach_ben@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @brohrbach