What Did Joel Embiid Say to James Harden in Trending Video? Internet Sleuths Try to Match Lip Sync

Basketball fans were left pondering the details of an exchange between former teammates Joel Embiid and James Harden when the Cleveland Cavaliers and Philadelphia 76ers played Monday night.

Harden chatted with some members of the Sixers roster, including Embiid and guard Tyrese Maxey.

To some observers, it looked as though the 2022-23 MVP was conciliatory toward the veteran guard:

Harden's relationship with the Sixers totally eroded ahead of the 2023-24 season. At the time, it looked like president of basketball operations Daryl Morey was the biggest target of his ire. During a promotional event in China, he called the longtime executive a "liar" and said he had no desire to play for a Morey-led organization.

Harden and Embiid may not have parted on good terms, either.

The big man told ESPN's Dotun Akintoye in July 2025 he and Harden were no longer on speaking terms.

"No one knows this, but even James is not talking to me," Embiid said. "That's the part I don't like about being 'that guy,' because it puts you in the middle of those situations. Because if you ask James, he probably believes I had something to do with him not being here. And I'm just like, 'I won the scoring title. You won the assists title. We had a pick-and-roll that was unstoppable.'"

As the cliche goes, time heals all wounds.

There's no turning back the clock and building a championship formula around Embiid and Harden in Philly. Any bad blood doesn't have to last forever, though.