3 reasons Giannis had to end feud with Rockets’ James Harden

With Giannis Antetokounmpo’s recent comments about Houston Rockets guard James Harden, here’s why Giannis was forced to bury the hatchet.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’re likely already aware of the saga between Giannis Antetokounmpo and Houston Rockets superstar James Harden. If you weren’t, let’s get you caught up-to-date.

Harden rightfully felt slighted over not being named MVP of the 2018-19 season, which Antetokounmpo won. Harden was very outspoken about his grudge with the media’s method of voting towards the award, while also making sure to point out that Giannis had a stellar season.

Giannis seemed to lose track of the latter part and held a grudge against The Beard heading into the season, waiting for the opportunity to throw shots at Harden. Giannis chose to throw shots in February, as he decided against drafting Harden on his All-Star team, citing he wanted someone who actually passed the ball.

This was an interesting choice of words, because Harden averaged more assists than the eventual selection, who was Kemba Walker. After the the All-Star game, Giannis said his team was targeting anyone Harden was defending, which was a strategy that didn’t work, as noted by ESPN analyst Kendrick Perkins.

Up until that point, Harden resisted the urge of entertaining Giannis but that was the tipping point, as he retaliated by stating how he wished he was seven-feet-tall and could just run and dunk. Afterwards, Giannis backed down, which seemed rather odd considering how he was the one who kept it going this season.

The timing also seemed interesting, considering how Giannis tried to put out the fire after Harden responded. The latest chapter of the saga seems like Giannis now wants to bury the hatchet, as he had some rather interesting remarks on Instagram live, which is what the NBA players have turned to of late.

Who is the hardest player to guard in the NBA right now?

Giannis says it's James Harden. pic.twitter.com/RZI9L5763v

— Dime (@DimeUPROXX) March 27, 2020

Giannis was asked the question of who’s the most difficult player to defend across the league and his selection was none other than Houston Rockets star James Harden. Granted, it took Giannis nearly three hours to give his answer (not literally), but he did eventually choose James Harden.

With the combination of this answer and his previous response to Harden’s clap back, it’s clear Giannis is trying to end the beef, which is the smartest thing to do. Lets take a look at three reasons why this was the best decision for Giannis to make.