"They wanna be Tarzan on paper": ‘Coach Prime’ Deion Sanders slyly references James Harden amid rumors of NBA star's training camp attendance

As they get set for the 2023-24 NBA season, the Philadelphia 76ers have been without star guard James Harden. Harden opted not to attend media day with the Sixers on Monday after not having his offseason trade request granted. He then proceeded to skip the team’s first practice at Colorado State University on Tuesday morning.

In doing so, the Sixers star also missed his team’s meet-up with “Coach Prime,” a.k.a University of Colorado football coach Deion Sanders. In Harden’s absence, Sanders took the opportunity to give Philly a speech about the importance of always showing up and competing at the highest level.

Sanders first spoke about how when he was growing up, star players such as Chicago Bulls legend Michael Jordan were significantly tougher.

“When we came up, MJ wanted that smoke,” Sanders said.

“He wasn’t ducking. Whoever was that dude, he was going to get. That’s the era I came up with.”

Sanders then said that today’s players aren’t nearly as competitive as they are too worried about trivial things like fouling out:

“Now, that guy ain’t guarding the main guy.

“He don’t want it 'cause he think he gonna foul out, and I understand that, but it’s a little different.”

Sanders also called out players for resting during primetime games against top competition. He referenced Sixers superstar big man Joel Embiid ducking his national TV games against arguably his biggest rival, Denver Nuggets superstar center Nikola Jokic. Sanders added that when he watches sports, he expects the best players to be available and give it their all:

“A lot of folks duck that smoke. They wanna be Tarzan on paper.

“Don’t sell me the game that this is what I’m gonna get, but when I turn on the TV, I don’t get that. I don’t like that. If Embiid is playing the Joker, I want to see Embiid versus the Joker. Alright, I want to see that, and he goes and gets it. I love that matchup, but I wanna see it.”

Given the timing of Sanders’ speech, it could be interpreted as a subtle shot at Harden. However, most would probably agree that a majority of NBA stars would be well-served to replicate Sanders’ mindset.

James Harden expected to report to Sixers training camp in coming days

Philadelphia 76ers star guard James Harden

According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, James Harden’s hiatus from the Philadelphia 76ers isn’t expected to last much longer. This comes as Wojnarowski reported Tuesday that Harden is expected to report to the team any day now. However, Wojnarowski added that the Sixers star still plans to make life difficult for Philly in an effort to get traded.

“He wants to make the 76ers uncomfortable,” Wojnarowski said.

“So uncomfortable, ultimately, they don’t think they’ll get the best out of him and make a trade.”

On Tuesday, Sixers coach Nick Nurse also spoke about Harden’s absence from the team. Nurse expressed uncertainty surrounding when Harden would be joining Philly. He added that he will be taking a wait-and-see approach in regard to the whole situation:

“I do know that he wasn't here today. If he's here tomorrow, like we've said on everything, we will get ready to make some adjustments on everything. We'll see what happens.”