James Harden responds to Giannis Antetokounmpo's passing joke during the NBA All-Star Draft

Earlier this month during the NBA All-Star Draft 2020, Giannis Antetokounmpo and LeBron James were busy picking their respective sides when Giannis had to choose from the likes of James Harden, Kemba Walker, and Trae Young. Giannis went on to suggest that he was divided between Kemba and Trae. "I want somebody who's gonna pass the ball," he added, obviously taking a dig at Harden's iso style of play.

On being reminded about that by ESPN's Rachel Nichols during an interview, The Beard had a prompt reply:

"I average more assists him than him, I think....I don't see what the joke is."

Harden then did one further when he talked about how people will respect him more when it's said and done while taking one really cheeky dig at Giannis:

"I wish I could just run and be 7 feet and just dunk. Like that takes no skill at all. I gotta actually learn how to play basketball, how to have skill. I take that any day."

You can see the entire conversation below:

Rockets' playing style

While much has been said about Houston Rockets' small ball style of play, things seem to have worked out for Mike D'Antoni and company with the franchise going 8-2 in their last 10 games including an active five-game winning streak. Similarly, irrespective of what you say about James Harden, he's still averaging 35.2 points per game this season. The Rockets are in the top four seeds in the West again and seem to be in the ascendancy during this final stretch of the regular season.