Tyrese Maxey Reveals James Harden's True Impact on Philadelphia 76ers

"The biggest thing I learned is, I know [James Harden], and I know people aren’t going to say he sacrificed, but he sacrificed," Maxey revealed on the "Deep 3" podcast. "He gave up some of himself for the team, for the betterment of the team. He was able to get Joel [Embiid] a lot of easy shots. He got me a lot of easy shots. But it was all about trust."

Harden and Maxey played together for a season and a half in Philadelphia, once the 76ers were somehow able to convince the Brooklyn Nets to take Ben Simmons for him. They still couldn't accomplish the playoff success that they wanted, but Harden still helped drive the team around him and build them up.

"From day one when he came in, the first thing he said to me was, 'Listen, don’t think you’re not going to get the ball. Don’t think you’re not about to still be aggressive and keep building your game.' His first instinct was always, whether we scored or didn’t, he was going to pitch it ahead to me, let me score in transition, play that one-on-one game, shoot, whatever the case may be.

"Then I’d get it back, and it would just flow from there." Although Harden is now on the Clippers, he's still having a clear impact on the team they are today.

The Current State of the LA Clippers

Now that Harden is on the Clippers, he's been given a great situation to thrive in. He'll be the starting point guard, but his starting backcourt mate could be any one of Bradley Beal, Bogdan Bogdanovic, and Kris Dunn, with Chris Paul backing him up.

On the wing, he'll have Kawhi Leonard in his available games, Derrick Jones Jr., Nicolas Batum, and John Collins (who could also be a small center), and then down low, he has Ivica Zubac, with whom he's established great chemistry, and Brook Lopez, who gives them a true stretch center. On paper, it's an old team, but they have all of the talent necessary to win games.

This will be Harden's best chance to win since he was in Houston.