Klay Thompson of the Golden State Warriorrs recently called himself the NBA’s best shooting guard. This is debatable and is a view that is, shockingly, not held by Houston Rockets shooting guard James Harden.
After naming Steph Curry the best point guard, which isn’t debatable, Thompson gave himself the nod as the league’s top shooting guard in an interview with Diamond Leung of Bay Area News Group.
“I’m going to go with myself,” Thompson said of his pick for the top shooting guard, throwing up his hands. “We’re 26-1.”
Houston is hosting Golden State on New Year’s Eve, so naturally Harden was asked to comment on Thompson’s evaluation.
Most would say Harden deserves that distinction. And while he didn’t exactly shoot fire from his ruling scepter in response, Harden did give an interesting answer.
“People are going to talk,” Harden said, per Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle. “Just let them talk and do whatever they’re going to do. Whatever gets them excited and whatever gives them that confidence to want to talk, just go ahead and do it. But we really know what’s going on.”
Asked if Thompson’s comment adds any motivation to Thursday’s meeting, Harden left it at “No.”
It’s hard to know what Harden means by “we really know what’s going on.”
Perhaps he’s saying Curry carries Thompson. Perhaps he’s saying Thompson’s confidence helps him play well. Both are true statements.
Perhaps Harden is bitter than he doesn’t have the supporting cast Curry does. Perhaps he’s upset that his Rockets are currently 16-17 and in seventh place in the Western Conference while Golden State has lost but twice this year and has a stranglehold on the top seed.
Harden is the better player. That said, nobody should fault Thompson for vocalizing what pretty much every other player in the NBA views about himself. They all think they’re the best, which is why they can step onto the hardcourt every night and play at a high level against the best players in the world.
It’s going to be interesting to see which player gets the better of one another Thursday evening when the Rockets host the Warriors.