Chandler Parsons and James Harden had a tense exchange via the media this past summer when the Houston Rockets declined to match the Dallas Mavericks offer sheet. Harden took the side of the Rockets who felt Parsons wasn’t the final piece of the Big 3 and that he was a replaceable role player. Apparently they’ve worked out those issues amongst each other and Parsons spoke very highly of his former teammate even saying he’d choose Harden as the league MVP.
“For sure. He’s the best player in basketball right now,” Parsons said before his Dallas Mavericks fell 99-94 to Harden’s Houston Rockets on Wednesday night. “The things he’s doing are incredible. The scouting report is focused in on stopping him and you see he’s still getting 30 a game. It’s impressive.”
Harden leads the NBA in scoring with 27.6 points per game and is averaging 5.6 rebounds, 6.8 assists and 2.0 steals. He’s the primary reason the Rockets had a 32-14 record after Wednesday’s game despite co-star center Dwight Howardmissing several games due to injury.
“Right now, there’s nobody playing better basketball on the planet,” Dallas coach Rick Carlisle said.
“It doesn’t really surprise me,” Parsons said of Harden’s season so far. “I saw firsthand how talented he is. He works extremely hard. He’s playing better defense this year. He’s leading their team. He’s hitting tough shots. There’s not much he’s not doing.
“I’m happy for him. Obviously, I don’t want him to play well tonight, but I’m happy how he’s playing.”
