James Harden on his role with the L.A. Clippers: ‘I am not a system player, I am a system’

If you thought James Harden was going to be humble upon his arrival with the Los Angeles Clippers, think again.

“I’m not a system player, I am a system,” the 34-year-old 10-time All-Star proclaimed on Thursday following the trade that sent him from the Philadelphia 76ers to his hometown Clippers.

“I am very elite as an individual and I can fit in with anybody and make a championship run work.”

Harden, who has played on four teams in the last four years after forcing his way out of Houston, Brooklyn and Philadelphia, has never won an NBA championship. His lone appearance in the NBA Finals came in 2012 when he teamed with his current Clippers teammate Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant on the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The Clippers -- who now feature Harden, Westbrook, Kawhi Leonard and Paul George -- have moved from 18/1 to 12/1 to win the NBA title, the sixth-shortest odds to win the title, per Caesars Sportsbook.

“I think all of us are on the same page in the sense of the individual stats and all those things are past us, and we all got one goal and I think everybody knows what that is,” Harden said.

“So for me, just going out here and finding the best way to contribute to this team.”

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Harden also said he felt he was on a “leash” with the Sixers. That and his “system” comment were shots at the 76ers, a team he helped lead to the Eastern Conference semifinals before they blew a 3-2 lead against the Boston Celtics. In that system under former coach Doc Rivers, Harden did lead the NBA in assists (10.7).

“I’m a creator on the court,” Harden said, “so if I’ve got a voice to where I can [say to the] coach, ‘Hey, I see this. What do you think about this? Someone that trusts me, that believes in me, that understands me that I’m not a system player.”