In an Instagram Q&A, reigning MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo named Rockets star James Harden as the NBA’s hardest player to guard.
“I’ve got to go with James Harden,” the 6-foot-11 forward said after pausing several seconds to consider his options.
The comment may signal a thawing of an occasionally frosty relationship between the last two MVP winners. The Milwaukee star appeared to throw shade in Harden’s direction before and after the 2020 All-Star Game, and Harden clapped back in his own interview later that month.
But when told of the Houston guard’s comments, Antetokounmpo denied that he was targeting Harden and tried to diffuse the situation.
Giannis says hardest NBA player to guard is James Harden pic.twitter.com/NgSMB4qrgy
— The Render (@TheRenderNBA2) March 27, 2020
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Antetokounmpo and Harden rank first and third, respectively, in a 2019-20 MVP straw poll released earlier this week by ESPN. The 25-year-old Antetokounmpo is averaging 29.6 points (54.7% shooting) and 13.7 rebounds in 30.9 minutes per game for the Bucks this season.
"There's not back and forth. … At the end of the day, if that's what [James Harden] believes, that's what he believes."
—Giannis Antetokounmpo on James Harden's comments about him pic.twitter.com/92XoqMxeGU
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) February 29, 2020
Harden currently leads the league with a 34.3 points per game scoring average, which represents just the third time in over 30 years that an NBA player has averaged at least 34 points in a season. (The other two were Harden’s 36.1 last season and Kobe Bryant’s 35.4 in 2005-06.)
However, the team results for the Rockets (40-24) aren’t as strong as they are for the Bucks (53-12), which largely explains Harden’s current placement behind Antetokounmpo. Now 30 years old, Harden has finished first or second in MVP voting in four of the last five seasons.
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Harden and Antetokounmpo were scheduled to meet head-to-head earlier this week, but the March 25 showdown was postponed amid the NBA’s coronavirus-induced suspension of the 2019-20 season. If the COVID-19 outbreak subsides enough for the season to resume, it is unclear whether that matchup will be re-scheduled.
If it is not, the only potential meeting left this season between the Houston and Milwaukee stars would be in a hypothetical NBA Finals.
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