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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.

The latest tweets from @drbill1947. Simmons says the Suns can make the NBA Finals for the first time in nearly 30 years if they can get the No. 2 seed and avoid a healthy Lakers team.

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#OneMissionpic.twitter.com/MTzWw52HBF

— Jackson Gatlin (@JTGatlin) August 10, 2020

Simmons’ comments prompted immediate mocking on social media.

Ah yes https://t.co/ABCcs2XREwpic.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/O0QzTaUUvWpic.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.

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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

Bill Simmons Twitter Feed

— 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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Perhaps it’s because it dropped at an odd time (my feed says 8:31 PM), or because it preceded a pivotal (and eventually excellent) NBA Finals tilt, or because it’s happened before, but Bill Simmons and Erin Andrews talked to each other on a podcast (right-click to save) and I didn’t even to turn it up to drown out the echo of a thousand bloggers rushing to transcribe every word.

Oh, wait. That’s mygig.

Some choice excerpts from this one:

Andrews: “Is your phone ringing while I’m doing this? That is so rude.”
Simmons: “That’s a party foul, I’m sorry.”
Andrews: “Wow.”
Simmons: “I forgot to unplug it.”

Simmons: “I like that you have the father-daughter thing. My daughter’s only four, but I would like to think that maybe she would like sports. I’m not going to force it on her, but if she does, I think that would be cool.”
Andrews: “It wasn’t forced on me. I just wanted to be around him. It just became cool, and a way to spend time with him.”
Simmons: “Yeah, but here’s the crucial thing, though: You thought your dad was cool.

Bill Simmons Wiki

Simmons: “Is there somebody you like?”
Andrews: “Um…I just don’t give up that information, because it’s the only thing I can control.”
Simmons: “It’s a good idea. I highly recommend that strategy.”
Andrews: “Bloggers would just kill that, and I just don’t want to let them. They’re gonna kill it regardless. They kill imaginary relationships that I have, I guess.”

Bill Simmons Off Twitter

And there’s more, on Twitter, on Dancing With the Stars, on Simmons not being able to quit Manny, and plenty more. Hit the jump for what amounts to a transcription. Continue reading