“You Played Against 40 Percent of the Players”: Kevin Durant Candidly Speaks on LeBron James’ Greatness

LeBron James’ longevity has often been touted as the barometer of his greatness in the NBA. While there has been pushback regarding longevity being the gauge of a player’s legacy, LeBron continues to be one of the top players in the league at the age of 39. In a classic case of “Game Recognizes Game”, Kevin Durant recently showered high praise upon James’ longevity during a recent sit-down.

Durant appreciated the fact that after his 20+ years in the league, the Los Angeles Lakers superstar still has the drive to pursue excellence after playing against 40% of the players that ever made the NBA. On his media network Boardroom’s yet-to-be-released cover story, the Phoenix Suns Forward lauded James as the standard that should be upheld in the league.

“When you 39 in your 20th year, and then half of your life is in the league and then you played against 40% of the players that’s ever played in the league. It’s just like, that longevity has to mean something. That has to be a standard,” said KD.

KD says LeBron’s longevity is the standard when it comes to greatness. Full Boardroom Cover Story convo drops Tuesday on the B/R app and @boardroom platforms pic.twitter.com/zoyEHn9UoF

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) February 18, 2024

As someone who has played in the league for more than 15 seasons now, Durant recognizes how much mental fortitude it requires to keep grinding on the NBA scene for this long. Therefore, he believes the King oozes greatness because of his will to keep working every day even after what he has done on the court.

As a 35-year-old, KD realizes that people often undervalue his rival’s resilience and discipline on and off the court. He added, “You still get up and want to work as hard as you can and be the best teammate, and work. That’s greatness to me. And that’s what I appreciate about LeBron.”

This is not the first time that KD has had such kind of praise for Bron. He has been calling him the standard for future generations for a long time now.

Kevin Durant is in awe of LeBron James’ legacy

In 2023, when Kevin Durant joined the NBA’s commentary crew as a hooper analyst, he invoked LeBron James’ legacy. He opined that James is not a “pass-first player” who can score, but rather a scorer who can pass the ball brilliantly. The Forward alluded to James’ All-Time Leading Scorer tag and how he has put up 27+ points a game during many seasons. 

”I just think he’s a scorer first that can make plays passing. I think that’s underselling him by calling him a pass-first player in my opinion,” commented Durant.

Then he also pointed out James’ longevity, which has been rare in the league and is set to become the first of its kind. He expressed, “The longevity is inspiring. When you look up and you still see he’s averaging 30 points at 38 years old, still making plays on both ends of the floor, it’s truly inspiring. He’s setting the bar for what an athlete can be. Not everyone can do this.”

Such praise coming from a future first-ballot Hall-of-Famer is huge. Durant is himself a huge example of playing at the top despite being well into his 30s. He knows what work it takes to sustain such a level of play at the dusk of one’s prime. His opinions thus are the validation of LeBron James’ longevity as a rare phenomenon and as an example for future athletes.