Eagles’ Jalen Hurts, Phillies’ Bryce Harper, and James ‘The System’ Harden: A study in contrasts

What must Bryce Harper and Jalen Hurts think of James Harden.

Harper is the ultimate team player, the ultimate Philadelphia promoter, a crystallization of this city personified. So is Hurts: selfless, deflective, driven, professional. They have performed their best in the biggest moments.

And then you have Harden.

In the last few months Harden, the biggest star Philly’s seen in decades, has proven himself to be a selfish, sloppy, delusional liar. After choking in consecutive Eastern Conference semifinals, he forced a trade to his hometown Clippers. There, on Thursday, he misrepresented his season-and-a-half in Philadelphia.

Harden claimed he was on “a leash” in Philadelphia, and while, yes, he often played like a dog, he was never restrained. Haden claimed that he “never really had that opportunity” to play his best, and that coach Doc Rivers did not welcome Harden’s suggestions regarding offensive strategies.

“I am not a system player,” Harden said. “I am a system.”

Yeah. A septic system.

» READ MORE: Daryl Morey on failed James Harden trade to Sixers: ‘I think it was the right bet. We’d do the same thing.’

All of Harden’s claims, of course, are absurd. Harden begged to come to Philadelphia because he wanted Rivers to coach him. Once he arrived, Rivers installed a pick-and-roll offense with Joel Embiid that afforded Harden unparalleled freedom and autonomy. As the 2022-23 season progressed, Rivers even granted Harden’s wish to play more minutes without Embiid, so as to give Harden options beyond the big man.

Embiid was incredulous Thursday when he heard Harden’s lie. He knows that only Luka Dončić touched the rock more last season than The Beard.

“We’d give him the ball every single possession to just go out and, you know, do his thing,” Embiid said. “And from there, he had to make decisions as far as getting guys open or looking out for himself.”

In short, the Sixers tailored their system to Harden’s strengths and preferences. He was “The System” for two playoff runs, and he was the reason the runs failed.

In the final two games of the 2022 and 2023 playoffs, which spelled the Sixers’ exits, “The System” shot 32.7% from the field and 26.1% from three, and averaged 15.0 points.

Doc Rivers might have had his faults, but keeping Harden on “a leash” wasn’t one of them.

If anything, the leash should have been tighter.

» READ MORE: Joel Embiid, James Harden choke in a gutless showing in Boston. ‘The Process’ fails again.

Harden on Thursday blamed his poor showing in the 2021 playoffs with the Nets, and has blamed his poor showing in the 2022 playoffs with the Sixers, on a lingering hamstring injury.

About that:

Hurts on Sunday will lead the Eagles against the Cowboys playing on an injured knee for the fifth consecutive week after leading the Eagles to the playoffs two years ago on a bum ankle and to the Super Bowl last season with a bad shoulder.

Harper last month led the Phillies to the NLCS with a reconstructed elbow from which he returned in record time, and, at risk of reinjury, he even volunteered to learn a new position so the team could be its best. Last October he led the Phillies to the World Series with a torn ligament in that elbow.

Harper and Hurts generally refuse to even discuss their injuries, much less use them as excuses for poor performance.

It doesn’t help that Harden seldom is in NBA game shape. His poor conditioning amplifies whatever ails him, especially now that his beard is shot with gray.

The last time Jalen Hurts and Bryce Harper were out of shape, they were breastfeeding.

Harper and Hurts obsess over fitness and preparation. They are the fittest athletes in their sport. This means that, when they’re injured, they can compensate and still perform.

As recently as May, Harden, Harper, and Hurts were the biggest stars in Philadelphia, in that order. Yes, all were bigger than Embiid. In fact, Harden is the city’s most decorated athlete since Allen Iverson. He’s a first-ballot Hall of Famer, and none of the others can claim that.

But Harden is the anti-Hurts. The anti-Harper.

And, ultimately, anti-Philadelphia.

» READ MORE: Will Bryce Harper stay at first base or return to the outfield? The Phillies’ answer should be both.

Harper is so committed to Philadelphia that he refused to incorporate an opt-out when he signed a 13-year, $330 million contract in 2019. Hurts’ five-year, $255 million extension he signed in April is relatively team-friendly. Both players have been tireless in promoting the team and supporting the community.

Harden, who forced his way out of both Houston and Brooklyn, said he wanted to “retire a Sixer,” but, when he believed that that wouldn’t happen, he considered opting out of the final year of his contract, then opted in only to demand a trade to the Clippers in June. He then called Sixers president Daryl Morey a “liar” when Morey did not trade him quickly enough for Harden’s liking. He then briefly boycotted training camp, showed up, left, then reported on the day before the season opener, when he was told he needed to get into shape before playing ... then tried to force his way onto the team plane as it prepared to take off for Milwaukee.

» READ MORE: James Harden’s Sixers era: A timeline of an eventful, tumultuous Philly tenure

Can you imagine Harper or Hurts engaging in such shenanigans? Of course not. Because these are the actions of a delusional narcissist.

“They didn’t want me, and it is that simple,” Harden said Thursday.

That is outrageous. The Sixers wanted him for this season and beyond, just not at Harden’s asking price.

Harden took less money for 2022-23 and gambled that he would play well enough to earn as much as a four-year extension at more than $200 million. He did not play nearly well enough.

He then had the chance to become a free agent. He declined, NBA sources say, because no team seemed likely to pay him close to the $35 million for one season that he’d get from the Sixers. In fact, once source said the best deal Harden was likely to get was for two years and about $60 million — from the Sixers. So, Harden opted in, expecting the Clippers to pursue him rabidly. They did not. Morey wanted guard Terance Mann to be included in any deal, but he finally accepted a first-round pick instead.

Which brings us to this:

Harden could have made more guaranteed money with the Sixers. He chose to leave because L.A. is home, it’s more fun, and he’s a 34-year-old one-trick pony whose one trick works only every third game or so.

And now Harden has joined the NBA’s most dysfunctional franchise in recent history, having just left the Nets and the Sixers, the league’s runners-up. He will play with assassin Kawhi Leonard, full-prime Paul George, and barely relevant Russell Westbrook — all one-time MVP candidates, all ball-dominant, Hall of Fame shoo-ins, and all unwilling to waste one of the final years of their careers to accommodate “The System.”

Westbrook and George seem leery. Westbrook, who played point guard with Harden for three years when the pair were youngsters in Oklahoma City, said it’s going to be “a process” with “ups and downs.”

Ya think?

George, who is off to a fabulous start, said, “We all said we think we can make it work.”

That seems less likely without a strong hand, and the Clippers are coached by Tyronn Lue, a cheerleader with a whistle and a man whom Harden says he’s eager to instruct.

“Sacrifice is going to be the biggest thing,” said Lue, who might not realize he has just sacrificed any hope of controlling his club.

Seriously. What must Jalen Hurts and Bryce Harper think of James Harden? Because we know what Philly thinks. And we know Philly will let Harden know when the Clippers visit March 27.

That’s the day before the Phillies’ season opener at home. Harper will be in town. Maybe the Sixers will give Harp and Hurts some court-side seats, so we can all witness the contrast between two committed professionals and “The System.”