The NBA’s new player participation policy is getting an early test as the league looks into whether the 76ers and James Harden violated the rule on opening night against the Bucks.
An NBA spokesperson confirmed to ESPN on Thursday that they were looking into the matter.
The new policy, put in place during the offseason, is meant to increase the participation of star players in nationally televised games.
“We are looking into the facts around James Harden’s availability tonight to determine whether an approved reason exists for his lack of participation,” league spokesman Michael Bass told the outlet.
The 76ers opted to keep Harden back in Philadelphia so that he could ramp up to game shape faster under the watch of the team’s development coaches and medical staff after a 10-day absence.
Harden had been away from the club due to “a personal matter,” which was later reported by NBA insider Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson as Harden tending to his ill mother.
However, ESPN noted that there was belief that Harden’s absence stemmed from his displeasure over the Sixers not honoring his request to be traded to the Clippers.
The Clippers walked away from trade talks with the Sixers over the disgruntled star, according to ESPN.
News that the NBA is looking into a policy violation is just the latest twist in the ongoing saga between the 76ers and Harden, which had already taken a bit of a bizarre turn earlier in the day.
plane by security. NBAE via Getty Images
According to Bleacher Report’s Chris Haynes, Harden had to actually be stopped by security officials from boarding the team plane to Milwaukee for the season opener.
Harden’s appearance at the team’s practice facility in New Jersey on Wednesday caught the Sixers by surprise, and it was interpreted as a “suggestion” for him to stay back instead of traveling with the team.
Harden had gone to the airport to board the team flight, where “he was stopped by a security official who notified him that he was not permitted to accompany the team,” the report stated.
General manager Elton Brand and head coach Nick Nurse spoke with Harden, and he reportedly left frustrated but without further incident.