Bill Simmons Angers NBA Twitter With James Harden-Luca Doncic Comparison

Bill Simmons Angers NBA Twitter With James Harden-Luca Doncic Comparison

Bill Simmons angered NBA Twitter this week when he chose to bash James Harden while praising Luka Doncic.

During his most recent podcast with Ryen Russillo, Simmons made the argument that Doncic was the Larry Bird of the modern NBA.

While that in itself is not a particularly illuminating take given that Doncic and Bird have little in common aside from pigment, what really ticked NBA Twitter off was Simmons opting to bash Harden while making his argument.

“The thing with Luka is the assists aren’t, like, cheap assists,” The Ringer boss said.

“He has the typical James Harden type of assist, where he brings the second guy over and hits the guy in the corner, the cross-court, all the stuff he’s doing to get guys open threes. But he’s also creating these cutter passes.

“Guys learn how to play with him and they’re more active, more engaged.”

Bill Simmons: “Luka’s assists are like Bird’s… they’re not cheap assists… like the James Harden type of assists.” #Rockets #OneMission pic.twitter.com/MTzWw52HBF

— Jackson Gatlin (@JTGatlin) August 10, 2020

Simmons’ comments prompted immediate mocking on social media.

Ah yes https://t.co/ABCcs2XREw pic.twitter.com/VrEeJQDydQ

— Jasmine (@JasmineLWatkins) August 10, 2020

Here’s an entire two minute video of Harden’s assists that Luka did once and Bill Simmons is freaking out about Luka’s https://t.co/O0QzTaUUvW pic.twitter.com/dTfHIddGMK

— Abdul Memon (@abdulamemon) August 10, 2020

Bill Simmons Praising Luka Doncic Is Understandable

Simmons being a fan of Doncic is not in itself shocking. The 21-year-old is an excellent player, and led the Mavericks to a very impressive showing against the Los Angeles Clippers in the playoffs this year.

The young Slovenian star is objectively special.

What really sparked the ire of NBA Twitter was not Simmons praising Doncic. That was justifiable and understandable. It was his decision to bash Harden, who has been one of the league’s premiere starting talents for the past eight years.

It is no secret that Harden’s playing style has won him some critics, but his results and stats are undeniable. He is a perennial top-two NBA MVP voting finisher for a reason.

Everything that Doncic can do, Harden can do as well. In time it may prove out that Doncic is superior to Harden, but that certainly is not the case in any capacity yet.

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The Racial Component

Any time a professional entity is mostly comprised of one race and a star of a different race emerges, the subject of how that plays into it is unavoidable. Whether you are talking about Eminem’s place in rap or Tiger Woods’ legacy in golf, the racial component cannot be avoided.

As such, there are two racial issues at play here.

The first is how Doncic’s race factors into fans’ perception of him – on both sides.

As illustrated by Shannon Sharpe, the opinions here are anything but unanimous.

.@ShannonSharpe on Luka Doncic’s performance vs the Bucks:

“He’s special, he can do it all. Skip, he’s been a professional for 6 years, this is not anything new to him. It’s just a matter of time, he’s going to win the MVP, he’s that good, he’s the real deal.” pic.twitter.com/zFu4c2C67P

— UNDISPUTED (@undisputed) August 10, 2020

The second is how race shapes perceptions of Harden – and in this case how Simmons views him.

The Bill Simmons Podcast everytime James Harden has a good game pic.twitter.com/hbemMnuM35

— LebronJamesHarden™ (@LBJamesHarden) August 10, 2020

Bill Simmons is a true blue (green) Celtics fan, in that he’s a closet racist. https://t.co/4wuiGMehhQ

— Andre Brock (@andreibrock) August 10, 2020

One way or another, this conversation as it pertains to both Doncic and Harden will persist. Both players are too good for it not to.

At the moment, Simmons is the one catching heat for it, but inevitably it will happen again with someone else as well.

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Anthony Amador

A graduate from the University of Texas, Anthony Amador has been credentialed to cover the Houston Texans, Dallas Cowboys, San Antonio Spurs, Dallas Mavericks and high school games all over the Lone Star State. Currently, his primary beats are the NBA, MLB, NFL and UFC.