James Harden reacts to comment by Giannis Antetokounmpo about All-Star draft

Houston Rockets guard James Harden responded to a comment made by All-Star team captain Giannis Antetokounmpo about preferring to play with Celtics Guard Kemba Walker rather than Harden, because he would like to play with someone who passes the ball. Harden responded with, "I wish I could be 7-feet, run and just dunk. That takes no skill at all, I gotta actually learn how to play basketball and how to have skill. I'll take that any day."

No names were mentioned in Harden's interview with ESPN's "The Jump," but it was clear he was responding to the comment made by Antetokounmpo about his style of play. Harden is currently the league's leading scorer, averaging 35.2 points a game. He has also been the scoring champion in the past two seasons.

Harden was voted as a starter guard in this year's All-Star game. As a Rocket, He played for the Western Conference. Antetokounmpo played in the other team, with Walker in the east.

According to Bleacher Report, the comment was made in jest, based on Harden's high production while positioned in the traditional playmaker role. It is also totally unsupported, since Harden won the assist leader award in 2017. This season, he is 9th in assists in the league.

Meanwhile, the 6'11" (211 cms) Greek Freak is a traditional power forward doing most of his damage in the paint with power plays. The reigning MVP and Harden are also the top two candidates again for MVP this year, with Antetokounmpo winning it in 2019 and Harden in 2018. Harden's individual stats are better, but the Milwaukee Bucks are leading the league in wins. A personal rivalry is brewing.

Antetokounmpo talked to ESPN after their 133-86 crushing win against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday night; "My game is not just power for sure," he said on ESPN. "I came in when I was 18, I was 180 pounds, so to power through big guys was kind of tough. But obviously, it's going to be times where you've got to power through guys. Like one of the best players, LeBron, Michael Jordan, Kobe, and all those guys… Shaq, all those guys, they were extremely physical with their play. They made their presence felt in the paint, but obviously, I try to work on my game, midrange shots, 3s, being able to screen and roll faster and make the right pass."