National Basketball Association

NBA fines 76ers star James Harden $100K for Daryl Morey remarks

Updated Aug. 22, 2023 1:24 p.m. ET

The NBA announced Tuesday it has fined Philadelphia 76ers star James Harden $100,000 for comments he made last week about 76ers president Daryl Morey, specifically calling the executive a "liar," while claiming he'll never again play for a franchise that Morey is involved in.

Its investigation discovered that Harden's comments stemmed from the 76ers having not yet traded him.

Harden, 33, opted into the second season of a two-year, $68.6 million deal with the 76ers in June and immediately requested a trade, with hopes of being sent to the Los Angeles Clippers to team up with star forwards Kawhi Leonard and Paul George.

Harden, a former MVP, three-time scoring champion and 10-time All-Star, averaged 21.0 points, a league-high 10.7 assists, 6.1 rebounds and 1.2 steals per game while shooting 44.1/38.5/86.7 last season. His teammate, Joel Embiid, earned 2022-23 NBA MVP honors, but the 76ers lost to the Boston Celtics in seven games in the second round of the playoffs.

Prior to Morey's arrival in Philadelphia in 2020 — and Harden's arrival at the 2022 NBA trade deadline — he acquired Harden from the Oklahoma City Thunder as general manager of the Houston Rockets in 2012; Harden and Morey have been part of the same NBA franchise (Rockets and 76ers) for a combined 11 seasons.

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