Harden got it all wrong in war of words with Giannis
The Rockets superstar stooped to the level of his worst detractors, writes Ben Golliver.
WASHINGTON James Harden knows an awful lot about reductive criticism.
After all, the Houston Rockets guard has been painted by critics over the years as a choker, a con man, a ball hog, a lazy defender and a party animal, among many other unwanted and distorting labels. He understands that he’s a big and easy target: He’s never won a title, he’s not shy about campaigning for individual awards and his style of play is confounding and unorthodox.
Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo jabbed at Harden twice last month — mocking his ball-dominance with a one-line joke during the all-star draft and referencing his defensive deficiencies during his post-game news conference at the NBA all-star game. Harden deserved better on both counts. He’s a willing and often visionary passer. While hardly elite on the defensive end, Harden is incredibly effective guarding bigger players in the post and is solid on the perimeter when locked in.
That context is what made Harden’s response to Antetokounmpo so galling. Rather than offer a detailed defence of his own game or a nuanced critique of Antetokounmpo’s approach, Harden deployed the same type of shallow and misrepresentative analysis that has so often been
foisted upon him. Simply put, Harden stooped to the level of his worst trolls and detractors.
“I wish I could just run and be seven feet and just dunk,” Harden told ESPN’S Rachel Nichols in a televised interview, when asked about Antetokounmpo’s comments. “Like, that takes no skill at all. I have to actually learn how to play basketball and have skill. I take that any day.”
Harden’s dismissive tone and sentiment quickly touched a nerve across the league. Antetokounmpo, the 2019 MVP and 2020 MVP favourite, is the NBA’S most dominant physical force and its second-most prolific dunker this season. The Milwaukee Bucks forward, however, isn’t a perfect player. He’s a career 29 per cent three-point shooter. He’s a bit robotic in the mid-range. And he’s a good but not extraordinary passer.
When it comes to the version of basketball “skill” that gets glorified in highlights, Harden surpasses Antetokounmpo. He’s a better and smoother shooter with deeper range, and his ball-handling ability and bag of
tricks are far superior. In truth, Harden surpasses almost every player in NBA history by these measures.
But these attributes hardly paint a full picture of basketball “skill.” Contrary to Harden’s portrayal, Antetokounmpo isn’t a one-trick pony. His game and personality are overflowing with valued skills.
James Naismith, the inventor of basketball and an ultimate authority, listed the sport’s “physical and mental requirements” in 1892. “Skill” made the cut, as did agility, accuracy, alertness, co-operation, initiative, reflex judgment, speed, self-sacrifice, self-confidence, self-control and sportsmanship.
The 25-year-old Antetokounmpo checks every box. He’s endlessly agile in the open court, slithering through defences with his long-legged Eurosteps. He’s accurate, leading the league in field goals made. He’s alert, captaining the NBA’S top-ranked defence as a leading defensive player of the year candidate.
Antetokounmpo co-operates, unselfishly setting up his teammates within an offence that ranks in the top 5 in efficiency, assists and three-point attempts. His initiative is perhaps his most prized quality, as he transformed himself from a raw teenager into a starter, into a most improved player, into an all-star and finally, into an MVP during his seven years in Milwaukee.
From a leadership standpoint, Antetokounmpo has followed in the mould of Stephen Curry and Tim Duncan: he incessantly defers credit to his teammates after wins and takes blame after losses, reflecting his self-sacrifice and self-confidence. Aside from occasional frustration with officials and this uncharacteristic engagement with Harden, Antetokounmpo
has been a model of self-control and sportsmanship since rising to stardom. The Bucks are 112-30 over the past two seasons entering Monday’s action, an absurd stretch of consistent excellence made possible only by Antetokounmpo’s reliability both on and off the court.
“My game is not just power,” Antetokounmpo said, when told of Harden’s comments. No kidding.
It takes skill to perfectly time a chase-down block. It takes skill to know precisely when and how to attack a defender in transition. It takes skill to read double teams and find the open shooter. It takes skill to be willing to challenge any centre in the league at the rim.
It takes skill to admit weaknesses and address them. It takes skill to raise one’s scoring and rebounding average every year for seven straight years. It takes skill to respond to a disappointing 2019 Eastern Conference final with a career year. It takes skill to keep a team on track for 70 wins without help from a Hall-of-fame sidekick.
It takes an obscene combination of skills to drive from the three-point line, pirouette through three defenders, gather one’s footing and then dunk over a fourth defender — as Antetokounmpo did against Charlotte on Sunday. It takes skill to do those things repeatedly when NBA organizations are putting all their manpower into stopping him.
By pitting Antetokounmpo as his opposite, Harden is guilty of constructing a false dichotomy and of arguing in bad faith. He must know that there’s so much more to Antetokounmpo than running and dunking, just as he should know that there’s so much more to basketball “skill” than shooting and dribbling.