JR Radcliffe

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

It stands to reason that most basketball fans in Milwaukee prefer that Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo win his first National Basketball Association MVP trophy following the conclusion of the 2018-19 season, but James Harden and Adidas would like you to reconsider.

In a full-page advertisement purchased in Tuesday's edition of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Adidas makes an appeal on behalf of Harden regarding some of the more discussed aspects of his game, such as his step-back maneuver (regarded as traveling by some) and his penchant for drawing fouls.

The Rockets are in Milwaukee on Tuesday for their lone visit to the city this season, a head-to-head battle between perceptively the top two MVP candidates in the league. The Bucks won a battle in Houston on Jan. 9, 116-109.

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The ad takes a conversational and conciliatory approach to laying out its argument and begins with the title "A message regarding James Harden (which he understands you may not read)."

"You're also free to be mad at James Harden's step-back," the ad reads (see the full layout below). "You're free to call it a travel and torch it on your podcast. Quick question though: if YOU could pull off that step-back wouldn't you do it? James Harden thinks you might. But he freely accepts you might not. ...

"The point is, whomever you vote for MVP, it won't change James Harden. He feels free to play the game how he plays it. James Harden is free to be James Harden. And you are free to be you."

The MVP is voted on by 100 members of the media. Harden received 86 first-place votes last year and won the award in a landslide for the 2017-18 season.

The ad concluded with the phrase "Free to Harden" in front of a silhouette of Harden's famous bearded visage.

JS columnist Lori Nickel caught up with Bucks forward Brook Lopez at shootaround Tuesday and showed Lopez the ad.

"It's nice," Lopez said. "It's interesting. I'm a James Harden fan. I think it's fun; I don't think it's too much of anything. He's 'free to Harden,' that's what it says. He's free to do what he wants."

The Rockets-Bucks game will air locally and on TNT at 7 p.m. CT Tuesday night.

JR Radcliffe can be reached at (262) 361-9141 or jradcliffe@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JRRadcliffe.