No one, save for maybe Karl Malone, has ever won MVP while also taking such a deep reputational hit. There's a whole lot that needs to happen in Philly for Embiid to embark on the Hero's Journey narrative that NBA fans are so unforgiving about seeing.  Read more »

James Harden's options are trying to win a title with the Sixers or semi-retirement back in Houston. It's assumed the former path will be roughly as consequential as the former. Read more »

The Celtics finished first in Net Rating ahead of the Cavaliers, who jumped up from 13th last season and 28th as recently as 2021. Read more »

James Harden is having a year that only seems underwhelming when compared to his past self. But what we are seeing is not exactly a lessening of ability as much as it is a shift in priorities. Read more »

Here's James Harden: the work-hard, play-hard perma-bachelor who traffics in such excess that he's never made room for the seemingly perfect partners. There's Joel Embiid, the hardened romantic who's learned to rely on only himself after a long-term relationship went sour. Read more »

With intelligence and perspective, we've dulled our pleasure centers and curbed our ability to produce meaning for ourselves. Read more »

To believe that any of 2023's neo-contenders can become bonafide champs over the next few months is to believe that a once-in-a-quarter-century occurrence is about to transpire. The reality is there are only four real contenders. Read more »

Teams like the Bucks and Sixers have become boring to NBA fans who thirst for interpersonal conflict and player movement, but it won't be when the playoffs hit. Read more »

In Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and De'Anthony Melton, the dashed dreams of the 2018 Rockets have found new foundation. Read more »

James Harden has long been the cosmos itself; what will it look like for him to be just another individual residing in a world he cannot fully shape? Read more »

James Harden finally looked like a man whose experience has enriched him, rather than ran him ragged, and gave everyone with the fear of being too washed up something to model themselves after. Read more »

The Suns jumped from 30th in the NBA in Net Rating in 17-18 to 29th to 18th in 19-20 to third last season and first in 21-22. Read more »

With Ben Simmons having gotten that trade he wanted, we can finally stop twisting ourselves in knots, stop calibrating what benevolent or rotten people we are by examining our role in the possibly fraudulent plight of a rich and famous athlete. Read more »

James Harden and Daryl Morey likely see themselves as mercenaries at this point. They only want to win a ring. It doesn't matter where or how, just so long as they get a solid share of the credit. Read more »

Both James Harden and Joel Embiid are worlds unto themselves, players who not only dictate the end result of a game, but define the parameters in which it is played. Read more »

Any way you look at it, this possible swap of James Harden and Ben Simmons involves an unusual mix of both potential and risk. It could undo either franchise, but also lead either to a championship. Read more »

Maybe the 76ers don't actually need a second co-star; maybe Joel Embiid is a different kind of freak, so much a bulldozer that everything around him can just be a really nice shovel. Read more »