WATCH: 76ers’ James Harden FaceTimes fan paralyzed in Michigan State University mass shooting

Shoutout James Harden. While everyone knows how great of a basketball player the Philadelphia 76ers’ guard is, he’s typically a man of few words outside of random social media posts during the offseason. Yesterday, we got a closer look at how great James Harden is as a human, when he reached out to Michigan State shooting victim John Hao.
John Hao was one of the victims of a mass shooting at Michigan State University on February 13th. Shortly afterwards, word reached James Harden that Hao was one of his biggest fans and he made sure that the 20-year-old college student knew that he was pulling for him.
WATCH: James Harden FaceTime fan paralyzed in Michigan State shooting
“There’s things like that, where you sit back and think about just real life and things bigger than basketball,” Harden said after Philadelphia’s 110-105 win over the Memphis Grizzlies at Wells Fargo Center Thursday night, the Sixers’ first game back from the All-Star break. “I heard that he was a fan of mine, so I wanted to get up on that ASAP and just see what I could do, anything I could do.” via ESPN
In addition to sending shoes and donating to the GoFundMe set up to help cover medical expenses, James Harden made sure to FaceTime John and offer some words of encouragement.
“Everything will work itself out, be strong. You’re alright. You’ll be alright. I promise you are … I love when you’re smiling, alright? I’m with you. I know it’s tough right now, but you have to stay physically strong, you know what I mean? You gotta just think positive things and keep pushing and keep fighting.”
James Harden and the Philadelphia 76ers will be back in action on Saturday at home against the Boston Celtics after winning in comeback fashion last night against the Memphis Grizzlies.
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Mandatory Credit: USA TODAY