Sixers’ James Harden sends game-worn shoes, video chats with Michigan State shooting survivor
In the video, Harden asked John Hao how he was doing and told him, “Everything will work out. You are strong.”
James Harden reached out to John Hao, one of the students recovering from the shooting on Michigan State’s campus. The 76ers standout talked to him via video chat and sent several sneakers, including game-worn items, to Hao, who is recovering at Sparrow Hospital in Lansing, Mich.
In the video, Harden asks Hao how he’s doing and tells him, “Everything will work out. You are strong.”
Hao, who is paralyzed according to his GoFundMe page, said Harden is his favorite player.
“My team is how I found out about it, the people that work for me,” Harden said following Thursday’s 110-105 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies at the Wells Fargo Center. “It’s things like that where you just sit back and think about real life and things bigger than basketball. I heard that he was a fan of mine and I wanted to get up on that ASAP and see what I can do, anything I could do.”
A couple of people from Harden’s team flew up to Lansing and visited Hao in the hospital with gifts from the star to cheer him up.
“I gave him my number so whenever he feels like he needs anything, he can call me,” Harden said. “I can check up on him until he gets back to recovery.”
The student was injured Feb. 13 when a mass shooting occurred in two buildings on the MSU campus. Three students were killed and five others injured.
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“This is bigger than basketball,” Harden said. “This is real life. I’m fortunate and blessed to be a in position to where I can make an impact on people’s lives. That’s what I really care about. That’s what I value and that’s what makes me happy obviously other than family and things like that.
“It’s a tragedy. He wasn’t expecting that. It’s something that he couldn’t control. And that’s what’s the craziest part about it. So anytime I can do my part, I’m going to do it.”
Harden is one of the NBA’s Top 75 players of all-time. The point guard is the 2018 league MVP, a three-time scoring champion, and a 10-time All-Star.
In his latest NBA game, Harden scored 31 points against the Grizzlies while passing Sixers legend Allen Iverson for 26th on the NBA all-time scoring list at 24,386 points.
He is this season’s league leader in assists at 10.7 per game in addition to averaging 21.6 points.
The Sixers have won five straight and 14 of their last 17 games. They’re 39-19 and in third place in the Eastern Conference standings, three games behind the first-place Boston Celtics.