NBA Fantasy: Joel Embiid, James Harden Rank High Ahead of Training Camp – Sports Illustrated

The Philadelphia 76ers have had a pair of stars who have been valuable to NBA fantasy teams all across the internet over the last few seasons.
As Joel Embiid has established himself as one of the league’s most dominant players, his former sidekick Ben Simmons also grew into a multi-time All-Star after winning the NBA’s Rookie of the Year award in 2017.
Last season, everything shifted a bit. While Embiid remained a top-tier fantasy asset, Simmons didn’t log a single point as he held out from the Sixers for more than half the season. Eventually, the Sixers found a way to swap stars as they dealt away Simmons in a package to exchange for James Harden.
While Philly got rid of one star, they received another after landing the former NBA MVP.
Although Harden had a player option attached to his contract for the upcoming season, he declined. However, Harden had intentions of returning to the Sixers, and he did so by inking a two-year deal in the offseason.
Now, Embiid and Harden will continue growing together in 2022-2023, and they both find themselves in the top ten for NBA.com’s fantasy rankings as training camp quickly approaches.
Joel Embiid was one of the NBA’s most dominant players last season. For the second-straight year, Embiid was in the MVP conversation and came second in voting behind the two-time MVP, Nikola Jokic.
While Embiid’s strong fantasy season had him in the top five last year, the NBA.com fantasy team is skeptical about his availability for next season. After questioning whether the center’s career-high of 68 games played is the “best-case scenario” or not, NBA.com ranks Embiid at No. 10.
As for Harden, it seems he’s anticipated to have a big fantasy year. Ranked at No. 5, Harden’s relatively down year last season doesn’t have fantasy writers worried about his value deteriorating. 
Not only does he continue to produce points and assists at a high level compared to other NBA guards, but Harden will be playing alongside one of the NBA’s most dominant players for a full season, which could open up more opportunities for himself to score and dish out assists next year. 
Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for All76ers, a Sports Illustrated channel. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.

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