James Harden thinks he doesn't get enough credit for taking $14M pay cut

James Harden is so unselfish that he [checks notes] wants to be recognized for just how unselfish he is.

The Philadelphia 76ers star Harden spoke with Joe Vardon of The Athletic on Tuesday and said that he feels he has not gotten enough recognition for his selflessness in taking a pay cut to return to the 76ers this offseason.

“Nope, [I haven’t gotten enough credit],” said Harden. “But guess what? I don’t care. There’s like a stereotype [of me] where people always wanna talk. People don’t really know me, so they feel like they can just say anything.

“One thing I won’t do is give them any attention,” the former league MVP continued. “I won’t say anything, media-wise, publicly. I don’t care because I’m comfortable and I’m confident in the things I do on and off the court.”

The 33-year-old Harden declined his player option for the 2022-23 season and re-signed with the team at a discount of roughly $14 million. You can read the details about Harden’s new contract as well as about his situation with the 76ers heading into the coming season in Vardon’s full piece here.

Harden’s comments here are a bit ironic since wanting to get credit for your selflessness shows that you probably aren’t all that selfless in the first place. But the act of taking a pay cut itself really helped the 76ers this offseason as it allowed them to bring in some notable new supporting cast members.