"Kevin Durant can flat out shoot it, and LeBron can't, period, end of story" - NBA analyst believes Durant is a better small forward than LeBron James, says the former gets disrespected for losing in playoffs
Kevin Durant has got the better of LeBron James once again. After besting James in two finals in 2017 and 2018, Durant scored higher than the four-time champion in the annual general manager survey.
The annual GM survey picked the Milwaukee Bucks to win the title and termed Luka Doncic as the MVP favorite. The survey also ranked Durant as the best small forward. Durant was followed by Jayson Tatum and Luka Doncic in second and third positions, respectively, while James came fourth. Kawhi Leonard rounded off the top five.
Sports analyst Skip Bayless was quick to comment on Durant getting pole position, ahead of James. Bayless spoke about it on the latest episode of "Skip and Shannon: Undisputed:"
"KD gets 45% of the vote compared to 10% for LeBron? That's an avalanche. That's a runaway. The people in-charge, the people in the know are saying, 'Shannon, it ain't close.'"
Bayless felt the survey disrespected Durant for his team's first-round exit from the 2022 postseason:
"The guy who is most disrespected in this overall survey is Kevin Durant because of his disaster and debacle against Boston. The sweep in the first round.
"He has plummeted, like, even a year ago. Look at the top spot. A year ago, the Nets were 72% of the votes to win it all. And now it's the Bucks getting 43%, and the Nets are way down the line. That's disrespect to Kevin Durant."
Bayless summarized his argument for Durant being better than James:
"All I know about last year was Kevin Durant put up MVP numbers. Just didn't play enough games. LeBron didn't play enough games. Each of them averaged 30 points. ...
"This boils down to one simple fact: Kevin Durant can flat out shoot it, and LeBron can't. Period, end of story. That's what the GMs know. He can shoot, he can't."
.@RealSkipBayless reacts to KD voted best small forward, LeBron 4th-best:
"This boils down to one simple fact: Kevin Durant can flat out shoot it and LeBron can't. Period, end of story." https://t.co/rEXg0BUlNs
LeBron James didn't get single vote for being most clutch in NBA, "ridiculous" says Shannon Sharpe
To add more insult to injury, LeBron James did not get a single vote in the category for the most clutch players. Steph Curry finished at the top with 55% of the vote, far ahead of Kevin Durant in second place with 17%. Damian Lillard finished third with 14% of the votes.
This irked Skip Bayless' co-host, Shannon Sharpe. The former NFL player, who is an ardent James admirer, sounded off on the results:
"Give me Dame or give me LeBron. It's ridiculous that LeBron James did not get a vote."
Sharpe elaborated on further:
"In the last five seconds of a playoff game. Game-tying or go-ahead shot, Dame Lillard is [shooting] 30%, Steph Curry is 20%, and Kevin Durant is 18%t. LeBron James is shooting 39% and he didn’t get a vote.
"You see how the narrative is: All these guys can shoot the ball better than LeBron. But when it comes to the playoffs, LeBron James is hands down the best."
.@ShannonSharpe says “it's ridiculous" LeBron James didn’t get a vote for being most clutch in the NBA:
“In the last 5 seconds of a playoff game, game-tying or go ahead shot: Dame is shooting 30%, Curry is 20% & KD is shooting 18%...LeBron is shooting 39% and didn’t get a vote." https://t.co/i7Z4r5tR4h
You can read more about the annual NBA GM survey here.