James Harden has been one of the most polarizing figures in basketball this year. As many people know, his off-court and on-court shenanigans have been widely criticized by fans, players, and media personnel.
One person, in particular, was quick to criticize James Harden for handling the trade situation so poorly. In fact, Shaquille O’Neal was publicly criticizing him for the lack of respect with which he left Houston.
Now, the two superstars are engaging each other’s comments, seemingly creating a feud between them. In particular, as harden was heading to the Brooklyn Nets, he says that he gave Houston all that he could, but that the team was too far in trouble for him.
“I’ve literally done everything I can. It’s crazy. I don’t think it can be fixed.”
He certainly implies with the comment that he longer wanted anything to do with the Houston Rockets. It is also explicitly cleat that he wasn’t up for playing hard for them any long.
James Harden and Shaquille O’Neal Trading Shots at One Another
However, Shaq has his own thoughts on the matter. He immediately shot back at James Harden, calling him a bad teammate and implying that he will cause a lot of problems. In an already troubled locker room, Shaq says that he will only create more drama for the team to have to deal with.
But Harden certainly isn’t going to take those comments lying down, so he fired back at Shaq. So, James Harden took to Instagram to throw shade back at Shaq.
“We do all of this talking about uplifting the next African American athlete/male, and some of these ex-NBA players use national TV or their [sic] own social media to do the opposite. I see it, I just stay to myself. The real never lose! Salute to @DwayneWade for being solid.”
While he doesn’t specifically call out Shaq in this post, it certainly seems that the TV personality is the intended target.
However, dragging Dwayne Wade into the James Harden and Shaq feud was something that Wade wasn’t interested in. After Harden’s first game with the Nets, Wade was happy to praise him for his performance. In fact, the new Nets star put up a triple-double with 32 points, 14 assists, and 12 rebounds.
“Let’s talk about this narrative: James Harden looks happy and there’s no price tag for that feeling. Could he have handled things better? YES! But couldn’t we all. I’m happy for this Black man.”
So, hopefully, Harden can change the narrative surrounding his team chemistry. Perhaps the Brooklyn Nets will even make a deep run into the 2021 playoffs this year with his help.
[H/T Complex]
