Houston Rockets superstar James Harden has returned fire at reigning NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo in response to criticisms about Harden’s style of play.
During an interview with ESPN’s Rachel Nichols, Harden was asked about the “ball hog” joke Giannis made when selecting Kemba Walker over Harden for his All Star team, and he responded by saying it takes “no skill” to just run and dunk at 7-feet tall.
Stacy Revere/Getty Images
Harden didn’t specifically mention the Greek Freak in his response to Nichols’ question, but it’s clear who he was taking a shot at. Says Harden:
“I average more assists him than [Walker], I think. I don’t see what the joke is.” He added, “I wish I could be 7-feet, run and just dunk. That takes no skill at all. I gotta actually learn how to play basketball and how to have skill. I’ll take that any day.”
The two All Stars have been at odds ever since Giannis beat out Harden for the MVP award a season ago and Giannis has been the instigator throughout this season. In addition to his remarks about Harden’s tendencies on offense, the Greek Freak also made jokes about The Beard’s perceived lack of defensive prowess.
Check out Harden’s comments in the video clip embedded below.
Similar to last year, Harden is once again pacing the NBA in scoring, averaging 35.2 points per game to go along with 6.4 rebounds and 7.3 assists (which is more than Kemba’s 5 assists per game).
Giannis, meanwhile, has only improved upon his MVP season, posting career-highs in points (29.7) and rebounds (13.7) with 5.8 assists per game to boot. As a result of his stellar play, the Milwaukee Bucks boast an NBA-best 50-8 record.
