Fact check: Does James Harden actually have a PhD at Stanford?

James Harden led the Philadelphia 76ers to a win against the Boston Celtics in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semi-finals despite not having Joel Embiid on the floor. However, fans might be getting confused in searching for additional information regarding Harden and his rumored PhD at Stanford University.

While researching The Beard, there has been some slight confusion in some information on the internet. While Harden is unique, he isn't the only person who's named James Harden. This is why people get confused as to why he has a rumored PhD.

Looking at the staff profiles on Stanford's website, an African-American man of the same name received his PhD from the Stanford School of Medicine’s Immunology Program last year. Further research shows that he is a different person to the one associated with the NBA and the Philadelphia 76ers.

The NBA's Harden committed to Arizona State University from 2007 to 2009. The Beard played for the school and averaged 17.8 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3.2 assists in his freshman year. Arizona State were picked to finish ninth in the Pac-10 Conference for their season.

The ten-time All-Star followed it up with a stellar sophomore season, averaging 20.1 points, 5.6 rebounds and 4.2 assists. After the conference season, Harden was named the Pacific-10 Conference's Player of the Year. Following his sophomore year, he declared for the NBA Draft and was picked third overall by the Oklahoma City Thunder.

You might also be interested in reading this: "Maybe he’s him" - Sixers fans in awe of James Harden who explodes for 45 in Game 1 against the Celtics

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James Harden reflects on his Game 1 performance

Philadelphia 76ers v Boston Celtics - Game One

James Harden and the Sixers were locked in Game 1 as they surprised the Celtics with a win on the road. They didn't have their star center, Embiid, in the lineup due to a sprained knee which he suffered in round one of the playoffs against the Brooklyn Nets. Luckily for them, Harden was focused on getting a win early in the series.

The 2017-18 MVP finished the game with 45 points, six assists and two steals to start the series. Harden had a clutch three-pointer that helped them seal the game and get the win over Boston. After the game, he shared how confident he was in taking the much-needed bucket for his team.

"I work on that shot every day. Whether it goes in or it don't, I got the confidence to shoot it. Just stay with my shot, follow through and it went in. We're a resilient team, even without Joel [Embiid], we got the confidence to come here and win games and we've been doing it all year long. It's a good win for us." Harden said.

"We missing some 30 points a game, so it had to be collectively. But for me," the All-Star guard said as he addressed his need to be aggressive in scoring the ball. "I just want to get to a good start and I was going to live with the results. I was going to take some shots though. Same thing for Game 2."