Giannis–Harden rivalry

Giannis Antetokounmpo

Giannis in the 2017-2018 season, the same year James Harden won his first MVP.
Personal information
Native name	Γιάννης Αντετοκούνμπο
Full name	Giannis Sina Ougko Antetokounmpo
Nickname(s)	Greek Freak
Nationality	Greek
Born	December 6, 1994 Athens, Greece
Years active	2013–present
Agent	Alex Saratsis
Height	6'11"
Weight	243 lb (110 kg)
Sport
Sport	Basketball
Position	Power Forward
Association	NBA
Team	Milwaukee Bucks
Coached by	Mike Budenholzer

The Giannis–Harden rivalry, or Harden–Giannis rivalry, is a basketball rivalry encouraged by social media and in-person between NBA Bucks player Giannis Antetokounmpo and currently Nets player James Harden, mainly because of the criticism they have said to each other. The two players faced off against each other on a number of occasions, including the 2020–2021 playoff semi-finals in the 7 game series. They also competed for the controversial 2018–2019 MVP where James Harden was the runner-up for the award with Giannis Antetokounmpo winning the MVP.

The two players have both achieved many awards and milestones in their career, and are ranked among some of the greatest NBA players in history. Both players have made it to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team, and have in the regular season as of the 2021–2022 NBA season have a total of 37,798 points, 11,443 rebounds, and 9,417 assists in their careers.

James Harden

James Harden on the Rockets in the 2017-2018, the same year he won his first and only MVP.
Personal information
Full name	James Edward Harden Jr.
Nickname(s)	The Beard
Nationality	American
Born	Los Angeles, California
Years active	2009–present
Agent	Rich Paul
Height	6′ 5″
Weight	220 lb (100 kg)
Sport
Sport	Basketball
Position	Shooting Guard
Association	NBA
Team	OKC, Rockets, Nets, 76ers
Coached by	Jacque Vaughn

History

Giannis and Harden went up against each other in the 2021 NBA playoff semi-finals, where the Milwaukee Bucks went up against the Brooklyn Nets with Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and James Harden. In the round, the Nets won the first 2 games, but the Bucks managed to win 2 games with the round tied 2–2. The Nets won the next game by 6 points, but the Bucks manage to win the next game, forcing a 7-game series. At the end of the 4th quarter, Kevin Durant hits a turn-a-round three-pointer, but his foot was on the 3-point line, resulting in the shot only being worth 2 points and sending it to overtime where the Bucks win 115–111, and would go on to beat the Phoenix Suns in 6 games and win the 2021 NBA Championship. Another time they faced off was during the fight for the 2018 MVP, Giannis and Harden were against each other in a regular season game, and during the game, Giannis was posting up P.J. Tucker in the 4th quarter, and attempted to pass the ball to Malcolm Brogdon in the corner, but accidentally hits Harden in the head with the basketball, however, he gets the ball back and passes it to Ersan Ilyasova who hits a 3-pointer. The game ended with the Bucks winning 116–109. In the 2018–2019 MVP race, Giannis won the award with 941/1010 points, Harden being the runner-up with 776/1010 points, third being Paul George, and fourth being Stephen Curry. The Rockets Twitter account however disagreed with the winners, and posted how James Harden should have won the MVP instead, and compared Harden's statistics in comparison with Giannis'. NBA player Jayson Tatum also spoke out and said during an Instagram Live session, "James Harden should have won MVP last year," and, "... He definitely should have won back-to-back MVPs." The year Giannis won MVP, he was averaging 27.7 PPG, 11.5 RPG, 5.8 APG, 1.0 SPG, 1.0 BPG, 1.5 3PG, 57.8 FG%, while Harden was averaging 36.1 PPG, 6.6 RPG, 7.5 APG, 2.0 SPG, 0.8 BPG, 4.8 3PG, 44.2 FG%.

First Round

Conference Semifinals

Conference Finals

NBA Finals

E1

Philadelphia*

4

E8

Washington

1

E1

Philadelphia*

3

E5

Atlanta*

4

E4

New York

1

E5

Atlanta*

4

E5

Atlanta*

2

Eastern Conference

E3

Milwaukee*

4

E3

Milwaukee*

4

E6

Miami

0

E3

Milwaukee*

4

E2

Brooklyn

3

E2

Brooklyn

4

E7

Boston

1

E3

Milwaukee*

4

W2

Phoenix*

2

W1

Utah*

4

W8

Memphis

1

W1

Utah*

2

W4

LA Clippers

4

W4

LA Clippers

4

W5

Dallas*

3

W4

LA Clippers

2

Western Conference

W2

Phoenix*

4

W3

Denver

4

W6

Portland

2

W3

Denver

0

W2

Phoenix*

4

W2

Phoenix*

4

W7

LA Lakers

2

* Division winner
Bold Series winner
Italic Team with home-court advantage

Relationship

They have both made many insults and criticism against each other, for example, after Giannis won the MVP over him, he was interviewed by GQ and said, "You can't tell me that a guy whose team was a 14-seed at one point last year, and ended up a 4-seed with everything that was going on, so many injuries, and who went on a 32-game 30-point streak, eight 50-point games, two 60-point games in one season … and all the talk was about Antetokounmpo? There's no way." When Giannis was at the 2020 NBA All-Star Game and drafting players for his team, he was asked by Charles Barkley, "You don't want the dribbler?" and in response said, "I want somebody that's gonna pass the ball." and proceeded to select Kemba Walker instead. After the game, when asked what the team's strategy was late in the game, he said, "Offensively, we were just trying to find whoever James Harden was guarding. That’s who we thought we had an opportunity to score on." When asked in an interview about what he thought of Giannis' joke about him "Wanting someone that's gonna pass the ball" he said in response to it, "I wish I could be 7-feet, run and just dunk. That takes no skill at all," and, "I gotta actually learn how to play basketball and how to have skill. I'll take that any day." When ESPN asked what Giannis thought of Harden's remark, he said, "There's not back and forth. … At the end of the day, if that's what James Harden believes, that's what he believes."

Although they have said much criticism to each other, in 2020, there were trade rumors that James Harden may be traded to the Milwaukee Bucks playing together with Giannis Antetokounmpo, saying that James Harden's preferred trade destinations are to 4 teams, including the Milwaukee Bucks. However, the Bucks later decided not to pursue Harden and attempt a trade with the Rockets.

Awards

Key: Bold = More awards Italicized = Equal Awards Underline = Fewer Awards.

Giannis Antetokounmpo

• 5 All-Defensive Team
• 6 All-NBA
• 1 All-Rookie Team
• 1 NBA Defensive Player of the Year
• 1 NBA Most Improved Player
• 2 NBA Most Valuable Player
• 8 NBA Player of the Month
• 13 NBA Player of the Week
• 1 NBA Finals Most Valuable Player
• 1 NBA Championship

James Harden

• 30 NBA Player of the Week
• 7 All-NBA
• 1 All-Rookie Team
• 1 NBA Most Valuable Player
• 12 NBA Player of the Month
• 1 NBA Sixth Man of the Year
• 1 Olympic Gold Medal
• 1 NBA All-Star Most Valuable Player

Player statistics

James Harden in his whole NBA career has made more points, assists, rebounds, and steals, while Giannis has done more blocks, but has played 4 more seasons than Giannis. Giannis in his first 5 seasons compared to Harden in his first 5 seasons has made more points, assists, rebounds, and blocks, while Harden has gotten more steals.

Giannis Antetokounmpo Stats (All-time)

Season	Points	Assists	Rebounds	Steals	Blocks
2013–14	525	150	339	60	61
2014–15	1030	207	542	73	85
2015–16	1350	345	612	94	113
2016–17	1832	434	700	131	151
2017–18	2014	361	753	109	106
2018–19	1994	424	898	92	110
2019–20	1857	424	856	61	66
2020–21	1717	357	671	72	73
2021–22	2002	388	778	72	91
Total	14321	3020	6149	764	856

James Harden Stats (All-time)

Season	Team	Points	Assists	Rebounds	Steals	Blocks
2009–10	OKC	753	137	244	80	20
2010–11	OKC	998	176	255	92	24
2011–12	OKC	1044	229	252	62	15
2012–13	HOU	2023	445	379	142	38
2013–14	HOU	1851	446	344	115	29
2014–15	HOU	2217	565	459	154	60
2015–16	HOU	2376	612	501	139	51
2016–17	HOU	2356	907	659	121	38
2017–18	HOU	2191	630	389	126	50
2018–19	HOU	2818	586	518	158	58
2019–20	HOU	2335	512	446	125	60
2020–21	HOU, BKN	1083	475	348	53	33
2021–22	BKN, PHI	1432	667	500	82	36
Total	OKC, HOU, BKN, PHI	23477	6397	5294	1449	512

External links

Giannis Vs Harden Comparison

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