July 05, 2023
Bill Streicher/USA TODAY Sports
The Philadelphia 76ers had an eventful Fourth of July, with stars Joel Embiid, James Harden and Tobias Harris attending Michael Rubin's lavish party in the Hamptons.
In 1776, the 13 colonies declared their independence from Great Britain. Fast forward 247 years, and the key figures of the NBA team named in honor of this revolutionary moment were buying cookies to troll disgruntled Philly sports fans on Twitter and partying it up in the Hamptons. It's a beautiful country.
On Tuesday, Sixers President of Basketball Operations Daryl Morey tweeted a photo of himself outside of the original Crumble Cookies store in Logan, Utah. It's about an hour north of Salt Lake City. Only Morey can explain why he was there, but the tweet was a riff on Tobias Harris dismissing the complaints of "casual" Sixers fans because he thinks they'd trade him for a Crumbl Cookie. Harris owns several Crumbl Cookies franchises in the area. That comment is going to stick with him.
@tobias31 had to check out the first @CrumblCookies store. Don't worry Tobias, no casual fans in sight here. pic.twitter.com/GZ4l6F1p22
— Daryl MorΞy 🗽🏀 (@dmorey) July 5, 2023
Morey's "It is what it is" T-shirt pretty much sums up the mood of many Sixers fans at this point in the offseason. In addition to losing depth in players like Georges Niang, Shake Milton and Jalen McDaniels, the Sixers are now in a confusing, possibly lengthy no-man's land with James Harden, who opted into his contract on the premise that he'll be traded, or maybe not.
Harden was among several Sixers players who attended the star-studded Independence Day bash thrown by former Sixers part-owner and Fanatics CEO Michael Rubin. Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and Tobias Harris were there. So were Tom Brady, Leonardo DiCaprio, Kim Kardashian, Jay-Z, Jennifer Lopez, Kevin Hart, Joe Burrow and Justin Bieber. Usher was there to perform, too.
Embiid, Harden, and Tobias were all together at Michael Rubin’s party. I’d bet these 3 all start the season on the Sixers pic.twitter.com/fTMapSCtH2
— Aidan LaPorta (@aidanlaporta69) July 5, 2023
James Harden, Tom Brady, Devin Booker and Joel Embiid at Michael Rubin’s #4thofJuly Party
— Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) July 4, 2023
(Via @michaelrubin /IG) pic.twitter.com/fLY9T06ZVW
Rubin's Jay Gatsby-style gathering at his mansion is becoming an annual thing. This year, Rubin tweeted a drone video of the party, calling it "a literal movie." (The all-white attire makes sense, given the time of year, but from the outside, this event is just masks away from giving off an eerie "Eyes Wide Shut" vibe).
A literal movie - white party 2023 recap pic.twitter.com/1D3vlpCNBq
— Michael Rubin (@michaelrubin) July 4, 2023
Consider it a dramatic improvement that Rubin's wife did not face plant and go to the hospital this year. The Sixers could learn something from her.
The main takeaway for fans is that Harden looks incredibly happy to be with his teammates and Rubin. It creates the impression that the reports of his unhappiness with the team have been blown out of proportion. Then again, there probably isn't a party anywhere that Harden doesn't love.
The 76ers on the Fourth of July are a special bunch. Party time's over.
Re-sign Paul Reed 🙌 pic.twitter.com/WeqmDteknB
— Sixerdaily (@Sixerdaily) July 4, 2023
