NBA 2018-19: Giannis Antetokounmpo vs James Harden - Who has had the better season so far?

#2 The impact they have had on their respective teams

Their mental toughness knows no bounds.

At one point in the regular season, the Rockets were 11th in the West, plagued by injuries and hurdles aplenty. Harden went berserk when his franchise needed him to. He went on a blazing 30-point streak for 32 straight games and ball-hogged (as the critics refer to it) his team to within striking distance of the Conference-leading Warriors. The Rockets are currently 3rd on the West leaderboard, just 3.5 games behind Golden State.

It's true that the Bucks struggle whenever Giannis doesn't put up his best numbers. The reliability of this surging Milwaukee squad on the 24-year-old is based on thin ice. We can beg to differ with the notion of Milwaukee making it this far and this big, had Giannis not been as fit and as aggressive as he was.

To belittle one's contribution to his team in front of the other would be nothing short of a cardinal sin.