In 2020, NBA superstar James Harden made a comment that many folks perceived as a diss directed at Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Harden fires back at Giannis
“I wish I could just run and be 7-feet and just dunk. Like that takes no skill at all” 😳
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) February 28, 2020
Since then, a lot of NBA fans have been under the impression that the two players have beef with one another, but it sounds like that might actually not be the case.
Antetokounmpo recently spoke with Zach Baron of GQ and seemingly put his rumored beef with Harden to rest.
“A lot of people think that I have beef with James Harden, which is not true,” Antetokounmpo told Baron while showing off his collection of NBA jerseys — a collection that features a Harden jersey.
It certainly seems like Antetokounmpo admires Harden as a player, which might come as a surprise to some people.
Antetokounmpo’s Milwaukee Bucks are legitimate threats to emerge from the Eastern Conference this season, as are Harden’s Brooklyn Nets. There’s a chance the two squads could meet in the postseason.
So far in the 2021-22 campaign, Antetokounmpo is putting up some monster numbers. Over 13 games, he’s averaging 26.5 points, 11.3 rebounds and 6.0 assists per contest on 49.0 percent shooting from the field.
Harden, meanwhile, is trying to turn things around after a very slow start to the season by his standards. Over 14 games, he’s averaging 19.5 points, 7.6 rebounds and 9.3 assists per contest.
Antetokounmpo already has one NBA title under his belt, which is a feat that Harden is still trying to accomplish. The Nets star would surely love to check that box this season, but only time will tell if that ends up happening.
