James Harden Is “Harder to Guard” Than Luka Doncic, Admits NBA Champion

Luka Doncic put any doubt about his commitment to Los Angeles to rest after he signed a three-year, $165 million extension to stay with the Lakers through 2028. A former NBA champion decided that loyalty to the franchise wasn’t the same as loyalty in a scoring debate. He put Doncic’s offensive game up against James Harden's.

On the Club520 Podcast, Jeff Teague, who won a championship with the Milwaukee Bucks in 2021, gave his take on how Doncic compares to James Harden as a scorer.

“They both hold the ball the whole time. James was just able to manipulate the defense way easier,” Teague said (h/t) Legion Hoops (NBA Courtside). “Like you had to foul him or he was going to make a layup pretty much, or he was going to shoot a step-back three. It’s like you really couldn’t stop him."

"Luka, you can’t stop him either, but I think James had a little more," he continued. "I think that James was harder to guard.”

Harden built his MVP-caliber prime in Houston almost entirely around exploiting foul rules and shooting angles. He used the step-back three and a mastery of drawing contact to make him functionally unguardable within the rules as they existed at the time, a skill so effective it prompted the league to adjust foul-drawing regulations specifically because of him.

Doncic, by contrast, has built his own scoring dominance around footwork, size mismatches and one of the most versatile shot-making arsenals in the league. But Teague’s point is that even elite defenders had fewer clean answers against Harden’s style of step-backs and foul-baiting than they do against Doncic’s approach.

Two Players Who’ve Both Had Turbulent Years

The comparison comes at an interesting moment for both players. Harden’s 2025-26 season took an unusual turn of its own as the Clippers traded him to Cleveland in February in a deal centered around Darius Garland, only to be blamed for the Cavs' playoff exit.

Doncic, meanwhile, has fully settled into his new home after the blockbuster trade from Dallas. He closed out his first full Lakers season by averaging 33.5 points, 8.3 assists and 7.7 rebounds, and helping the team to 53 wins and the No. 4 seed in the West.

Teague’s take won't settle the debate about who’s the tougher cover between the two. Doncic’s size and shot versatility make him a matchup nightmare in his own right.

But it’s an opinion from a player who spent parts of his own 12-year career guarding both eras of pick-and-roll scoring. And it adds one more voice to the ongoing conversation about where Harden’s prime-years scoring instincts rank among the most difficult guards the league has ever seen.