Philadelphia Eagles: Maxx Crosby loves the Harden-Embiid pairing

Maxx Crosby is a rising star in the NFL.

A fourth-round pick out of Eastern Michigan, the 6-foot-5, 255-pound defensive end has transitioned brilliantly from a small school standout to a legitimate terror off the edge for the Las Vegas Raiders, thoroughly outplaying Clelin Ferrell, a player drafted 102 picks higher with the fourth overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft.

Forming a lethal tandem with Yannick Ngakoue, Quinton Jefferson, and Johnathan Hankins, Crosby and company terrorized opposing quarterbacks all season long, including Jalen Hurts, who was sacked two times by the Raiders’ rushers.

Alright, so what gives? Why is this, a Philadelphia sports blog, talking about a player who plays for a different team in a different division? Is the 2022 Pro-Bowler a potential free agent addition? Or maybe a trade candidate? Neither (I’m assuming); this is a story because Maxx Crosby is apparently a huge Philadelphia 76ers fan, or at least of the James Harden-Joel Embiid pairing. But… why?

Why is (hopefully) future Philadelphia Eagles DE Maxx Crosby a Sixers fan?

Maxx Crosby was born in Colleyville, Texas. He played his high school ball at Colleyville Heritage, where he was named a two-star recruit, and after a relatively light recruiting process, signed a letter of intent to play defensive end for the Eagles of Eastern Michigan.

During his college career, Crosby was named to the First Team All-MAC twice, in 2017 and 2018, and picked up 20 sacks, 40 tackles for a loss, and 162 total tackles over 37 games. This success inspired noted Philadelphia guy Mike Mayock to select Crosby with his fifth selection in the 2019 NFL Draft, despite some, like Lance Zierlein, suggesting that the selection was about two rounds too early.

Since making his way first to Oakland and then to Las Vegas, Crosby has amassed 25 sacks, 42 tackles for a loss, 57 quarterback hits, and 12(!) passes defended. He’s started 43 of the 49 games he’s appeared in and has rapidly become a favorite of both his teammates and the fans who make up Raiders nation.

But again, I ask, where in Crosby’s journey would he become a fan of the Philadelphia 76ers, Joel Embiid, or James Harden? Well, let’s attempt to find out.

Is Colleyville, Texas, close to Houston? No, not really. According to Google Maps, the two towns are roughly three and a half hours apart. Assuming geography is an indicator of team preference, Crosby is more likely to be a fan of the Dallas Mavericks than the Houston Rockets, as Mark Cuban’s franchise is only a half-hour away from Colleyville.

But hey, if you scroll through Twitter, and Instagram for that matter, for long enough, you’ll find a few Madd Maxx posts about Harden dating back to 2015, when he was still in high school. Whether he grew up a Rockets fan or simply fell in love with the style of play “The Beard” brought to the NBA, it’s clear Maxx’s fandom has followed Harden from Texas, to New York, and now to Philadelphia, where he’ll be paired up with the modern-day version of another Rockets legend, Hakeem Olajuwon.

Sheesh indeed, Mr. Crosby.

Well, there you go, the mystery that wasn’t really a mystery has more or less been solved, and we can close out the case once and for all. Maxx Crosby isn’t secretly playing the long game and has been a secret Philadelphia fan all along; he just has a personal affinity for James Harden… Though, you know, Crosby was a member of a team named the Eagles once before and looks great in a green and white uniform. Maybe he should set his sights on the Philadelphia Eagles when his contract expires at the end of the 2022 season. I mean, it’d get him closer to Harden.