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“I have to look LeBron James in the eye”: Kevin Durant revealed his perception of the King as a teenager

Arun Sharma
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"I have to look LeBron James in the eye": Kevin Durant speaks on what he thought about the King when he was just a teenager

Kevin Durant spoke about the time he chose LeBron James as his rival way before entering the league.

Kevin Durant doesn’t say much to the media-he loves leaving it all on Twitter though. But when he does speak to the press, he does have some good quips. In a clip, he speaks about how he watched every sports column hype a rookie LeBron James, and at that moment, he decided to make him his rival.

Durant has managed to do it for someone who was just a teenager. For someone in the 9th grade, Durant had lofty expectations. The duo has had some scintillating battles over the years, and until Durant slithered out of OKC, he was humbled by the King.

Those years were tough on Oklahoma, because even after having the talents of Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook (yes, there was a time he was loved and was a beast), and a young James Harden, they did not achieve much. akin to what the Clippers are right now.

Also Read: Ja Morant Deputizes a Desmond Bane Career-High 38-points as They Run Past Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving 

Kevin Durant vs. LeBron James was not even a match-up until the infamous switch to GSW

Not even the likes of Kevin Durant could do anything. Bron ran the show. Durant knows what blowing a 3-1 lead tastes like, despite not playing on the Golden State team. It was the loss in the Western Conference finals that pushed him to relocate to the Bay Area and realize his full potential.

Also Read: Skip Bayless Praises Grizzlies 3-point Shooting to Ridicule LeBron James and Lakers

KD has arguably been the more effective guy for his team in the last couple of seasons

Despite all his réalisations incroyables on an individual scale, LeBron James is arguably less effective than KD. The Slim Reaper spent a considerable amount of time on the treatment table, but when he returned, he looked like a fish in water. The Brooklyn man powered through to take his team deeper into the playoffs compared to Bron.

James has been struggling to put a team together that is cohesive enough to win games, let alone championships. They’ve now played four times as many games as they have won in the last 45 they’ve played. That is G-league form, in whichever world you want to consider.

Durant hasn’t hit MVP form yet, but whenever he’s played, he’s looked rock solid. The golden boy of the upcoming draft, Victor Wembenyama, looks to be a taller, skinnier, French version of the Reaper, and even Durant is wary.

There is a noticeable shift in NBA player build, and more and more Kevin Durant regens are entering the draft. Gone are the days of the muscle men; it’s time for the beanpoles.

Also Read: “No. 7 Stands for Completion in the Bible”: Kevin Durant Explains Switching Jersey Numbers from #35 to #7 for the Brooklyn Nets

About the author

Arun Sharma

Arun Sharma

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Arun Sharma is an NBA Editor at The SportsRush. A double degree holder and a digital marketer by trade, Arun has always been a sports buff. He fell in love with the sport of basketball at a young age and has been a Lakers fan since 2006. What started as a Kobe Bryant obsession slowly turned into a lifelong connection with the purple and gold. Arun has been an ardent subscriber to the Mamba mentality and has shed tears for a celebrity death only once in his life. He believes January 26, 2020, was the turning point in the passage of time because Kobe was the glue holding things together. From just a Lakers bandwagoner to a basketball fanatic, Arun has spent 16 long years growing up along with the league. He thinks Stephen Curry has ruined basketball forever, and the mid-range game is a sight to behold. Sharma also has many opinions about football (not the American kind), F1, MotoGP, tennis, and cricket.

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