First of all, I’ll give him credit where it’s due, Harden at his best made some amazing shots and ran a beautiful pick and pop game with Embiid that was arguably the deadliest play in the game last season. He was also a better defender than advertised and clearly did his part as a good teammate as not a single guy has said anything but great things about him. Finally, he did carry the Sixers for 2 games in the Celtics series when little else was working for the team.

That said, man was it frustrating to watch the man try to hoop like he was still 28 years old. How many possessions did he choose to pound the rock for the entire possession only to toss up an ugly jumper? How frustrating was it to see him drive on a younger, quicker defender only to throw up a lame airball layup and beg for a foul? And that’s when he wasn’t getting that shots swatted into oblivion.

Watching his performances completely fall apart in some of those playoff games sure was something. So I’m glad to move on from one of the most mercurial superstars in league history. We get to see Maxey take another step in his own legacy and the team has the chance to retool while Embiid is still in his prime.

The Harden experience was like trying a famously janky wooden rollercoaster ride–sometimes fun and exciting, sometimes harrowing and scary, but at the end you’re left feeling like you never need to get back in line again.