Kevin Durant asserts matching up against LeBron James is unique and challenging job to perform: “LeBron is tough to deal with on the floor”
Kevin Durant and LeBron James are two of the greatest forwards the game of basketball has ever seen. Because of that, one superstar knows the challenges that arise from playing against one another.
Throughout their illustrious careers, both James and Durant have been among the top players in the NBA. They've had plenty of historic showdowns, including their NBA Finals matchups with the Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers.
Times have changed, and with that has brought new surroundings for both Durant and James. The Brooklyn Nets are set to take on the LA Lakers on Sunday. While it's not a game with playoff ramifications, both the Lakers (2-9) and Nets (5-7) are in desperation for wins.
On "The ETCs with Kevin Durant," the Brooklyn Nets superstar spoke about the challenges of guarding LeBron. Durant acknowledged that he knows James has been dealing with injuries as of late. Still, Durant emphasized just how difficult LeBron is to deal with:
"LeBron is tough to deal with on the floor. So, we need wins. So, like, I want him to play, yeah, for sure, but when he's not out there, the game is definitely easier for us. Another groin injury last night (Wednesday) – hopefully, that's not as bad.
"But it's always an incredible time for the NBA when we get together. 'Cause all the fans watched us grow up. I've played on different teams, different matchups. It's just fun. It's always fun playing against Bron. I wish him the best of the injury, but not having him out there on the floor is less of a headache."
Kevin Durant looks forward to future matchups against LeBron James
Throughout the podcast, Durant talked about how he's always excited about the challenge of guarding James. Eventually, Durant was asked if he was going to "check" LeBron.
"Who else is gonna check him, 6'8? It's very weird, like in the history of the game, you get two guys that actually guard each other, and you know I'm saying, like, we and we all know one options on the team most of the night. So, like, we checking each other. You don't see that all day, you know. ... I think we both helped change the position.
"So, when we get together, it's always a unique game. You're going to see all different types of sh*t out there."
Both LeBron James and Kevin Durant will go down as two of the most talented forwards to play the game. Both superstars share an impressive list of accolades throughout their illustrious careers.
So my guy @KDTrey5 gave me his Mt Rushmore for Small forwards. So I made it clear he has to be on it obviously… check out the other 3 he picked.
Watch the full interview here:
youtu.be/MUG8C5K0LnM
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Brooklyn is trying to get on the right track after losing five of its first six games to start the year.
The same can be said for LeBron James and the LA Lakers. James is expected to miss Friday night's game against the Sacramento Kings and is considered day-to-day. The Lakers currently find themselves in second-to-last place in the Western Conference standings.