Does anyone have a lower approval rating in the Philadelphia sports scene right now than Josh Harris? My immediate gut answer is no. Harris, the co-owner of the Sixers, has watched his basketball team become a laughable afterthought in the city as its star-studded roster flounders.
More importantly, however, is the fact that Harris is the owner of the Washington Commanders. Harris is also the co-owner of the Flyers' rival in the New Jersey Devils, too. Those are a lot of eggs in a lot of baskets, but it's just so against the way the core Philadelphian operates. This city demands loyalty. It's not a request. Harris was supposed to save Philly basketball, but he's spent the last two years leading the revitalization of one of the Eagles' NFC East rivals. At best, it's a tone-deaf operation. I get that billionaires are used to doing whatever the hell they want and I'm sure if I my pockets were lined like that I'd be making otherworldly luxury purchases left and right, but how can you court the diehard Philly sports fan to follow the Sixers while also directly trying to negate success that the Eagles have?
The Birds destroyed Harris' Commanders on Sunday and are now in a Super Bowl rematch with the Kansas City Chiefs. It's bad for Harris' bottom line, but probably good for whatever standing he has left in Philly that he wasn't at midfield at Lincoln Financial Field celebrating a Washington Super Bowl berth on Sunday.
Over the last decade-plus, Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie has stood in stark contrast to Harris and, really, most owners in North American sports. The Birds have been a model organization, now entering their fourth Super Bowl in the last 20 years. They've now made it twice in the last three seasons and have maintained success despite numerous head coach and quarterback changes over in the 21st century. Lurie spends wisely, hires the right people and makes the Eagles his main focus. It's what every fan should want out of their favorite team's owner.
This is what makes a new statement from The Ringer's Bill Simmons about Lurie so confounding. Call it a report. Call it a rumor, but Simmons is plugged in, especially in the Boston scene. On the latest episode of his podcast and in a late night social media post, Simmons linked Lurie, a Boston native, to a possible purchase of the Celtics:
Mentioned this near the end of tonight’s podcast: Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie is in the running to buy the Boston Celtics. He’s a Boston native w/ degrees from Clark, Brandeis AND B.U. His first big company was called Chestnut Hill Productions. Huge Celts fan obviously.
— Bill Simmons (@BillSimmons) January 27, 2025
Maybe it's just conjecture. Maybe it's just Simmons pouring some water on Philly after their massive NFC title victory. Rich folks will do what rich folks do at the end of the day, but does Lurie really want to damage his impeccable reputation here?
If anyone is going to oversee two championship contenders in a consistent matter, it'd be Lurie, but he should take a firm look around the state of the South Philly Sports Complex and wonder what it will ultimately look like if he goes and buys an NBA team that everyone in Philly hates that has perpetually beat up on the Sixers.
Lurie is the best owner in Philly sports history. That's a tremendous legacy. He can still be that if he's owning that basketball squad up in Beantown, but it would sure feel antithetical to everything he's built here over the last 30 years if he did so.
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