NBA Analyst Believes Michael Jordan in His Prime Would Have “Destroyed” James Harden

The playoff hype is now real and James Harden has announced his grand entry. The Houston Rockets comfortably defeated OKC in Game 1 of their first-round series. Harden once again stood out as the Rockets’ best player on the night, with 37.0 points to his name. Skip Bayless put forth his opinion about Harden, and it’s something quite unexpected.

The Rockets registered a convincing victory over the Thunder, even without the explosive Russell Westbrook on their side. Harden and the Rockets were simply the better team on the night, posting a 15-point victory over OKC. 

While these events led to fans lauding Harden for his brilliance, Skip Bayless took it upon himself to remind everyone how great Michael Jordan was. The biggest takeaway of his tweet? He applauded Harden’s “revolutionary game,” but took shots immediately after the brief praise. 

“As revolutionary as James Harden’s game is, Michael Jordan in his prime would have destroyed him playing one-on-one,” Bayless wrote. This caught everyone by surprise, making them wonder about Skip’s sudden comparison. 

On a night when Harden got 37.0 points, 11.0 rebounds, and 3.0 assists, he still gets compared to MJ! Why did Skip bring out the Jordan comparison? Was he looking at their scoring efficiencies? We really don’t know. 

Charles Barkley thinks James Harden is a better 1-on-1 player than Michael Jordan

Skip Bayless is not the only one who caught everyone by surprise with his opinion. Charles Barkley shares a part of the credit as well. In the half-time analysis of the Rockets vs Thunder game, Chuck made a revelation about James Harden that shocked his colleagues. 

“James Harden is the best 1-on-1 player I’ve ever seen in my life,” Barkley said. Though Shaquille O’Neal and Kenny Smith strongly questioned this statement, Charles Barkley defended his opinion astutely.

“As great as Michael and Kobe were, they weren’t the three-point shooter that James was,” he continued.

The main discussion on the panel dissolved into why Chuck did not even consider naming players like MJ or Kobe before concluding that Harden’s the best 1v1 player that he’s ever seen. 

But Barkley did not change his mind, much to the chagrin of his colleagues. No matter how much Shaq tried to convince Chuck, he just wouldn’t shift from his opinion. What do you think? Is ‘The Beard’ the best 1-on-1 player ever to grace the NBA?