Giannis Antetokounmpo has repeatedly taken shots at James Harden, and now some are wondering whether the Greek Freak hit Harden with a cheap shot on purpose.
Video has surfaced from Sunday night’s NBA All-Star Game that shows Giannis catching Harden with an elbow under the basket.
Did Giannis hit Harden with a cheap shot last night?
( @KevinDu1119) pic.twitter.com/u128mLVQeE
— NBA Central (@TheNBACentral) February 17, 2020
My usual inclination would be to say it was inadvertent, or maybe just something that happened in the heat of the moment. And that may be the case. But Antetokounmpo seems to have something against Harden, and that piece of information is part of the whole picture.
The two players finished 1-2 in MVP voting last season, and Harden said he was annoyed the media gave the award to Giannis.
Fast forward to the All-Star Game, and Antetokounmpo took a shot at Harden when saying he wouldn’t pick the Rockets star for his All-Star team. Then after the game, Giannis went after Harden again, saying his strategy as captain of one of the teams was for his players to exploit Harden on defense.
Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo on Team Giannis’s late-game offensive strategy in All-Star Game: “Offensively, we were just trying to find whoever James Harden was guarding. That’s who we thought we had an opportunity to score on.” pic.twitter.com/LCBlHk50eD
— Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) February 17, 2020
Saying that Giannis took an intentional shot at Harden might be a stretch, but there is mounting evidence leading us to conclude that the Bucks star just doesn’t like Harden.
