Kevin Durant‘s elite scoring abilities have garnered the respect of past and current players alike. Even the late, great Kobe Bryant, who’s not easily impressed by players, seemed to have been impressed by a man of KD’s size shooting the lights out at will. In an interview four years ago, Kobe admitted that he retired from the NBA in 2016 without being able to figure him out in the last few years of his career. While Kobe’s remarks have been pretty well known in NBA circles, Durant finally responded to them on Twitter recently.
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During the 2019 interview, when Kobe was asked about the toughest player he has ever had to guard, the Mamba immediately responded with Durant’s name.
According to Kobe, KD fixed the shortcomings that he initially had and could score in multiple ways around defenders. After four years of Kobe’s remarks, the Phoenix Suns player finally responded with a tweet. A fan had specifically asked KD for his thoughts at the time when Kobe had made the statement.
I felt like I was doing something right https://t.co/FjwCh65jAi
— Kevin Durant (@KDTrey5) July 12, 2023
Kobe Bryant, apart from being a killer on offense, was also known for his lockdown defense. He was not afraid to accept a challenge and had the experience of containing great scorers like Allen Iverson and Dwyane Wade during his prime. However, he had to admit his limitations when guarding a guy like KD, who was pretty versatile with his handles, crossovers, and iso plays.
Kevin Durant has often been dubbed as the greatest scorer in the history of the league. At his height, the ability to score at a high clip from anywhere on the court makes him virtually unguardable.
Kobe’s thoughts on Kevin Durant’s game
In the interview, Kobe talked about a young Kevin Durant finding it difficult to score from his left side when he entered the league as a rookie. It was a weakness that the Lakers legend could exploit.
However, after KD figured out going to his left side, there was nothing Kobe could do. The Lakers legend talked about trying to find something that could help him, like counting the seconds he takes to make a move. But nothing seemed to work. KD was the ultimate cheat code to basketball.
Kobe was not the only one who felt this way about Durant. Many NBA legends have admitted KD’s greatness, with some even putting him in the same category as LeBron James.
