Philadelphia 76ers point guard James Harden has revealed that his resurgent form is inspired by a gospel ‘juju’ track sent to him by his head coach Doc Rivers after a sterling individual performance against the Boston Celtics in their Eastern Conference semifinal series.
Harden delivered 42 points in a game-winning display to help the 76ers tie the series 2-2 while he also scored a three-pointer in overtime to secure a 116-115 triumph.
Rivers was the first to make the surprising revelation when he said: “I sent him a gospel song. The title of it is, ‘You Know My Name.”
Harden, in his explanation, said: “I’m on my way to the game, and I get a text from Doc.
“It’s a gospel song, and I’m like, ‘All right, whatever.’ So, I just tell my homies, ‘Let’s play the song.’ It’s a seven-minute song, but I let the whole song play.
“I was like, ‘All right, there’s got to be some kind of good juju in this song, or however he’s feeling, I want to feel like that.’ And I guess it worked.’
“I just want to win. No matter how it plays out, I just want to win. Quite frankly, today was a do-or-die for us. We found a way to win, and that’s all that matters in the postseason.”
The track was released in 2017 by American songwriter Tasha Cobbs Leonard and featured American Christian artiste Maurice Eugene Willis.
The 76ers and the Boston Celtics will renew their hostilities on Tuesday night in Boston.
