mobile app bar

“LeBron James ruined basketball when he left, not Kevin Durant!”: Former teammate Iman Shumpert calls out Lakers star after allegation that Nets man ruined NBA during Warriors days

Tonoy Sengupta
Published

“LeBron James is Somebody I’d Pay to Go See”: Kevin Durant, Who Has Stolen Two Rings From The King, is a Fan of His Passing Abilities

Former LeBron James teammate Iman Shumpert explains how the King ruined the NBA as a basketball league, far before Kevin Durant ever did

 

LeBron James has done quite a bit over his hallowed career.

4 rings, 4 MVPs, 4 Finals-MVPs and so, so much more, that frankly, if we listed off each and every achievement, this would be less of an article and more of an essay.

But, as admirable that all may be, we’re not here to talk about James’s list of achievements overall. No, no, no, we’re here to talk about his moves to earn his first-ever ring, what it did to the NBA, what it did it to one Kevin Durant, and most importantly here, what Iman Shumpert had to say about it all very, very recently.

So, without further ado, let’s dive straight into it, shall we?

Also Read: “Dennis Rodman has been dressing like he’s in Euphoria almost his whole NBA career!”: NBA Twitter goes berserk over the Bulls Legend’s fit pics from the 90s

Iman Shumpert believes Kevin Durant is wrongfully accused of ruining the NBA, the real criminal here is LeBron James

For those unfamiliar with what’s going with that subheading, let us give you a little retrospective of a mid, to early 2010s NBA.

Firstly, in the 2016 offseason, you have a prime Kevin Durant who chose to join the very team that had beat him in the most recent postseason, the Golden State Warriors. And to Golden State’s amazement at the time, this team was so strong, they made the NBA so boring, it became damn near unbearable to watch until he left.

This move was widely considered to be the obliteration of the beauty of basketball, with KD going from the most loved guy in the NBA, to being branded a snake. Legend says the Power Rangers are STILL jealous of the speed of that transformation.

But, while many still consider this to be the worst sin in the history of the NBA, and plop it onto Durant’s shoulders, Iman Shumpert can’t quite help but disagree.

Recently he made an appearance on the show VladTV, with host DJ Vlad. And while the two spoke about Kevin Durant’s sacrilege against basketball purity, here is what he had to say.

“Lebron ruined [basketball] when he left Cleveland and went to Miami…we looked around like ‘everybody cool with this?’ That opens up the mind of somebody like KD…one of the greats just did it and now you gotta compete with it. I can’t say “KD just stay here in this small market” cause you not gonna beat Miami”

Shumpert further added that this was the first time he looked at something and wailed out about how it was cheating. But of course, as we all know now, it didn’t matter.

In 2010, a 26-year-old LeBron James, who was exasperated at the Cavaliers’ incompetency at the time, decided to jump ship and make a superteam with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in Miami. And with them, he did a whole lot of winning, including his first two championship rings.

All-in-all though, we can’t help but agree with Iman Shumpert here.

Yes, KD’s switch may have arguably made more waves and been more impactful on the NBA. But, it’s really LeBron James who set the trend on this one.

Also Read: “I would’ve played with Jordan and Pippen! But I wanted to beat those guys”: Shaq says he could’ve joined the Bulls speaking about Kevin Durant’s move to the Warriors

About the author

Tonoy Sengupta

Tonoy Sengupta

x-iconinstagram-iconlinkedin-icon

Tonoy Sengupta is a Senior Editor at The SportsRush. Coming from an athletically inclined family, he has been surrounded by sports ever since he was 4 years old. But, while initially pouring all his time into Football (soccer), at 14, Tonoy discovered basketball through the countless highlights of Stephen Curry humiliating players from Curry Land. And just like that, a fiery passion for the game was ignited within Tonoy. And soon after, he decided to become a student of journalism, graduating in 2022, and choosing sports as his area of interest. Today, you can find him spending 99% of his time browsing through every type of content on every team in the NBA, before uncorking everything he has found to the world. In the 1% he isn't doing this, you can find him playing Basketball, Football, Volleyball, or practically any other sport he has had the opportunity to learn.

Share this article