Giannis Antetokounmpo and James Harden is the rivalry everyone is forgetting about in the NBA. The bad blood between both men started last season. Giannis beat Harden in a hotly contested MVP race, with many claiming that Harden deserved it. Both men took this professional rivalry seriously. Giannis would choose not to pick James Harden in his all-star team because ‘he wants somebody to pass the ball’. Giannis would rub salt into the wounds by saying team Giannis felt Harden was the weakest link on Team LeBron in the fourth quarter and was always trying to switch on to him.
Harden responded to Giannis by implying he has no skill and relies on his athleticism to play. The squabbles just anticipated the hype for their second meeting of the season, however, the pandemic canceled it. Now it is back on in the team’s second fixture in the bubble. The Bucks managed a 6-point win over the Rockets (111-117) when they met in October 2019. The game was exemplified by a torrid show from Harden, who managed just 19 points on a shambolic 15% shooting efficiency. Giannis on the other hand had a 30-point triple-double.
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Harden vs Giannis today pic.twitter.com/x1LF9Q3JEs
— Keith McPherson (@Keith_McPherson) August 2, 2020
Giannis Antetokounmpo vs James Harden: Who wins?
While it was close last season, this year there isn’t a sliver of doubt. Giannis has been the far superior player all season. His numbers are staggering. Giannis averaged 29.8 points, 5.8 assists, and 13.8 rebounds this season and is the leading candidate for MVP. he is even in the Defensive Player of the Year conversation.
Harden is arguably third or fourth behind LeBron James and Giannis. Some would argue a case for Luka Doncic over him for his impact on the Mavericks in his second year, but that could be disrespectful to the scoring leader of the league. harden has literally been the scoring leader since before Doncic even joined the NBA. This season, Harden is averaging 24.6 points, 7.4 assists and 6.4 rebounds.
Harden’s Rockets have been inferior to Giannis’s Bucks, who are the best team in the league based on wins. The Rockets are the sixth-seed in the West, while the Bucks lead the East convincingly.
