The City of Brotherly Love had no love for James Harden on his first visit back after forcing a trade out of town earlier this season.
Harden was back in Philadelphia on Wednesday night as the Clippers beat the 76ers, 108-107, as fans let their displeasure with the former Sixers star be known from his introduction to the start of the game.
Video from inside Wells Fargo Center showed Harden being introduced as part of the Clippers’ starting five, and boos came down on him as he high-fived his teammates and seemingly ignored the crowd.
Harden, who scored 16 points with 14 rebounds, was also heavily booed whenever he touched the ball and only received a cheer when he missed a shot or turned the ball over, the Delaware News Journal reported.
“I expected it,” Harden said after the game, per the Associated Press. “I really don’t know what it’s about, but I expected it. So it is what it is. I don’t even know why they were booing. You can ask them. I don’t know why they were booing.”
The NBA star had spent a season and a half in Philadelphia after he had maneuvered his way out of Brooklyn before that.
Things between Harden and the Sixers organization deteriorated quickly, especially after he called team president Daryl Morey a “liar” and said he would “never be a part of an organization that he’s a part of” last August in China.
Harden started the season with the 76ers but never played for them, and he was eventually traded on Oct. 31 to the Clippers.
The star was clear he would not be making amends anytime soon with Morey.
“No,” Harden said. “Hell no.”
Going into Wednesday’s Philadelphia return, Harden downplayed the personal significance of the return while implicating that it was bigger for the Clippers as a whole.
“I don’t know, and I don’t care,” Harden told The Athletic when asked about the potential reception. “We have bigger problems than me worrying about Philadelphia, you know what I mean?
“We got bigger problems.”
Harden had entered the game averaging 17.1 points per game, 8.5 assists per game and 5.1 rebounds per game.