James Harden set to practice with Sixers as ramp-up continues - ESPN

PHILADELPHIA — James Harden participated in the Philadelphia 76ers' pregame walkthrough and video session ahead of Sunday night's home opener against the Portland Trail Blazers, according to 76ers head coach Nick Nurse.

Harden is also expected to take part in Tuesday's practice at the team's Camden, New Jersey, facility.

«James was here,» Nurse said ahead of Sunday night's game at Wells Fargo Center. «He was here for the film session and walk-through. The report on him is he had some good conditioning days, still in the ramp-up process, looking to have him back in practice on Tuesday. That's about where we are with that.»

When asked if there had been any setbacks with Harden's conditioning and ramp-up work over the past several days, Nurse said everything had gone according to plan.

«All signs are positive conditioning-wise and all those things,» Nurse said. «We just need to get him in some live action, then hopefully we can do that Tuesday.»

Harden was on the bench with his teammates during Sunday's game, wearing jeans and a green hoodie. He was briefly shown during the team's introductory video before the game, though Philadelphia only introduced its starting lineup before game, meaning there wasn't an opportunity to see how the crowd would react to seeing Harden on the jumbotron.

It's been a circuitous route to this point for Harden and the 76ers, as the saga over Harden's potential participation with the team this season continues to drag on. Harden requested a trade back in June when he opted into his $35.6 million player option for the 2023-24 season, and he called 76ers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey «a liar» multiple times during a promotional appearance in China in August.

Harden said earlier