For a regular season game, the hype of James Harden’s Sixers debut was on par with only a handful of moments in recent Philadelphia sports history. The short list that comes to mind for me is Joel Embiid’s first game after sitting out two seasons due to injury, Cliff Lee taking the mound for the Phillies following a mid-season trade with Cleveland, or Terrell Owens’ debut after forcing a trade to the Eagles earlier that spring and signing a seven-year deal. Friday was unofficially James Harden Day in the City of Brotherly Love.
As it turns out, all of the buzz and anticipation directly translated to eyeballs for NBC Sports Philadelphia:
Last night’s game was the highest-rated 76ers regular season game on NBCSP/NBCSP Plus since 2001.