Bucks' Terry: Harden, not Thompson, is NBA's best shooting guard
Veteran guard Jason Terry isn't one to shy away from voicing his opinion, and during his Wednesday appearance on SiriusXM Radio, "The Jet" took off on one of the Golden State Warriors' Splash Brothers.
When host Justin Termine asked Terry who he believed was the best shooting guard in the NBA between Klay Thompson and former teammate James Harden, Terry didn't believe it should even be up for debate.
"He’s not leading s--t," Terry said of Thompson, as transcribed by Def Pen's JD Shaw. "If he doesn’t make shots, how effective is he? Go watch Klay Thompson versus James Harden from last year and see what James did to him. Every time James got by him, you know who was there? Draymond Green or Andrew Bogut.
"Let’s see what happens this time around."
Klay Thompson vs. James Harden: 2015-16 Statistics
| Player | G | MPG | PPG | FG% | 3P% | RPG | APG | SPG | PER |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Klay Thompson | 80 | 33.1 | 22.1 | 47 | 42.5 | 3.8 | 2.1 | 0.6 | 18.6 |
| James Harden | 82 | 38.1 | 29 | 43.9 | 35.9 | 6.1 | 7.5 | 1.7 | 25.3 |
Terry isn't implying Thompson is some sort of scrub - he also called his jump shot "pure beauty" - but compared to Harden, he can't wrap his mind around there being much of a contest.
"I’m not a Klay Thompson hater," Terry clarified. "It’s just when you put him up against James Harden, there’s no comparison."
Harden is asked to carry more of his team's offense in Houston, resulting in a usage rate of 32.6 percent compared to Thompson's 26.3. Also, in Golden State, Thompson shared the ball with back-to-back MVP Stephen Curry. A third wheel, four-time scoring champion Kevin Durant, will enter the fray after signing a two-year deal over the summer.
Terry, who's now a member of the Milwaukee Bucks, will take on Thompson and the new-look Warriors when the reigning Western Conference champs visit the BMO Harris Bradley Center on Nov. 19.