Giannis Antetokounmpo is one of the most humble superstars in the league, and generally, no one has a bad word to say about him. While Giannis Antetokounmpo is ferocious on the court, he is viewed as a nice person by opponents, teammates, and fans.
However, it was previously reported by many that Giannis Antetokounmpo had beef with James Harden. The beef started when Harden made his infamous “run and dunk” comments on Antetokounmpo.
“When it’s all said and done, they will appreciate it more,” said Harden. “But I wish I could just run and be 7 feet and just dunk. Like that takes no skill at all (laughs).
“I had to actually learn how to play basketball and how to have skill, you know? I take that any day.”
There has obviously been a lot of speculation about Harden and Antetokounmpo’s relationship. However in a recent interview with Zach Baron of GQ, Antetokounmpo claimed that the reports of the two having a beef were “not true”, and it was revealed he even has a framed Harden jersey in his basement.
He also has a slew of framed jerseys down in the basement. Some of the jerseys are hung, proudly, on the wall; others are stacked haphazardly on a pool table or near the bar stocked with alcohol that Giannis doesn’t drink. Many are his, but curiously, he also has dozens of framed jerseys from other NBA players too. Some are perhaps what you’d expect: the uniforms of greats who’ve played the game and since retired or passed away. Dominique Wilkins, Dirk Nowitzki, Dwyane Wade, Vince Carter, Kobe Bryant. But many of them—the majority of them—are from his peers: guys he competes against during the regular season and the playoffs.
He’s got a framed Blake Griffin Pistons jersey. He’s got one from Kevin Durant, and one from Steph Curry. James Harden—“A lot of people think that I have beef with James Harden, which is not true,” he said, because if it were, why would his jersey be here? He continued the tour. “This right here is from Luka Doncic, the wonder boy. Anthony Davis. L.A., you know him. Jokic. I love the game! Oh, this is mine from this year. This is from the MVP I won. The All-Star MVP. Bradley Beal. Damian Lillard. Derrick Rose. I love Derrick Rose. LeBron James, man. Look! Look what he wrote for me.”
While there is no beef between the two, they will potentially be trying to beat one another in the playoffs. Both the Milwaukee Bucks and the Brooklyn Nets are viewed as contenders, and it’s quite likely they will face each other just like last season.
Both James Harden and Giannis Antetokounmpo are MVP-winners and fantastic players in their own right. While there may have been some slight digs from them towards one another in the past, there’s obviously no reason for Antetokounmpo to have a framed jersey of someone with who he has beef with, and we can infer that the two stars are good with one another.
