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Harden. Pretty sure it's going to be that way only for one more year, though.

Harden quite clearly, but Giannis will finish higher excluding freak injury.

I've got Harden for now but feels like it's a matter of time untill Giannis passes him.

Harden but it won't stay that way for long.

Giannis after this season def has the edge for me. Im not as high on Hardens peak and prime as others here are tho.

Dutchball97 wrote:I've got Harden for now but feels like it's a matter of time untill Giannis passes him.

More or less my thought. Possibly as soon as next year; maybe the year after. With Harden likely in early decline, and Giannis playing as he is.....excepting injury, I can't imagine it will take longer than till 2025 for him to pass Harden on my list (probably not even that long).

Haven't updated my list in like two years, but I suspect it's Harden. Not 100% sure, but sure enough to vote for him.

Giannis has 2 league mvp's, 1 finals mvp, 1 DPOY while Harden has 1 league mvp and they played in the same era. So Giannis for sure.

Giannis is clearly the better player for me. More of a defensive edge than Harden and easier to build championship teams around. I would say Giannis should comfortably pass Harden with a little more experience.

JordansBulls wrote:Giannis has 2 league mvp's, 1 finals mvp, 1 DPOY while Harden has 1 league mvp and they played in the same era. So Giannis for sure.

if harden had eye pleasing playstyle and had the same stats he would have 3 mvps

This whole notion that someone plays longer is better is ridiculous. It's about what you do in the time frame you play as far as overall accolades not cumulative stats.

JordansBulls wrote:This whole notion that someone plays longer is better is ridiculous. It's about what you do in the time frame you play as far as overall accolades not cumulative stats.

Yeah I do not understand how you can take Harden over Giannis. If going by stats, I think Giannis is comfortably ahead without even having to look it up. If going by team results, Giannis is easily over Harden, especially in the playoffs.

Longevity is important, but if you see that a player has a ceiling on his impact to lift/lead a team, then why do you have to put in more seasons.

If a player's potential is capped out (Harden) and another player still has more potential and has equaled or surpassed another player (Giannis) then why do you need more seasons?

I get when some players have had an entire career and its a close call; like if someone wanted to ask if Giannis is higher than say Karl Malone and Charles Barkley. I would say that Giannis needs a few more years, because Malone and Barkley have shown an elite level, especially in the playoffs. Whereas what has Harden shown that says he is on that level....I think some posters just can't let some things go with certain players.....

JordansBulls wrote:This whole notion that someone plays longer is better is ridiculous. It's about what you do in the time frame you play as far as overall accolades not cumulative stats.

You're allowed to hyperfocus on accolades but it's pretty ridiculous to act like that is the only way of looking at player rankings.

So I said Giannis.

A big thing for me is that Harden's been a massive negative these past 3 years because of his off-court impact. Beginning with him pushing the Rockets to trade Paul away, he's been hurting his own teams badly each year since.

This makes it real hard for me to swallow an argument for Harden over Giannis based on longevity. I mean, if we just compare Giannis in Milwaukee to Harden in Houston, there's absolutely no comparison when it comes to how much achievement the fanbases in question see each guy's respective tenure. Harden's work in Brooklyn is a negative and his work in Philly is basically nil to this point, so an argument for Harden to me is essentially on the basis of his one really impressive year in OKC.

If I thought it was a tough call who the actual better player was, maybe that would be enough for me, but since it is clear to me that Giannis is the better player, nah, not putting Harden ahead based on that longevity.

Doctor MJ wrote:So I said Giannis.

A big thing for me is that Harden's been a massive negative these past 3 years because of his off-court impact. Beginning with him pushing the Rockets to trade Paul away, he's been hurting his own teams badly each year since

The more I think about the Paul-Harden tenureship the more it sours me on both men. It validates the critiques of both guys. Paul's detractors bring up his incessant carping. Here he was in a situation were he knew he was the 2nd best player. The team was playing at a championship level getting closer than he ever had before. Does he learn to moderate his personality? No! He's such a micromanager that he gets himself kicked off the team. I have to say my new boss is a Chris Paul type and I now understand why he irritates his teammates so much. I've had bad bosses before but he is the first who carps 24/7 and it is just tiring and saps your joy for work. I get why Harden and Blake and others disliked Chris.

For Harden, the image of him is that he's a guy who doesn't want to work that hard and takes off portions of the game. He has a teammate who is annoying but is clearly the best player he's played with since he's emerged as a star. He decided let's kick him off the team to bring on my friend who isn't half the player Paul is. And when his friend turns outs to be a trainwreck he stops playing hard so he can get traded. Basically he destroyed the company he works for.

It really reflects poorly on both guys. Paul for just being incapable of moderating his personality. Harden for being only able to grit and bear it for 2 years.

Say what you will about Shaq-Kobe. they may have detested each other but they made it work for many many years and peaked a lot higher as a partnership. And when they went their separate ways it was a lot more defensible. IMO they were very lucky to go on a long run in 04. And I think both of em knew if they capped out LA together they were capped as 2nd round fodder.

I voted for Giannis.Too Many playoffs meltdown for Harden in his career and he struggle big time when this is the time to adjust his way to play and too often he don't give up everything he had come playoffs time,things who can't happen

Voted Giannis, no idea from a corp perspective if Giannis has passed Harden yet, but I think it's only a matter of time. Harden has had too many playoff issues and is too predictable as a player for me, I'm not that high on him.

Harden right now. Giannis with a bit more longevity

It's Harden for now, but it's a lot closer than I thought before I laid out their careers.

Both have 5 seasons as true superstars, 2015, 2017-2020 for Harden, and 2018-2022 for Giannis. Harden has more value from the remainder of his seasons, but honestly the average prime year for Giannis is better than Harden's. One more year like 2021 or 2022 would likely put him over the top for me.