Kevin Durant praises LeBron James for inspiring him to be great

(Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)

Thursday night’s game between the Los Angeles Lakers and Phoenix Suns marked the first time LeBron James and Kevin Durant will play together in a regular-season game since Christmas 2018. The two legends put on a great show for all the fans watching.

Durant scored 39 points and 11 rebounds, and LeBron scored 21 points, 8 rebounds and 9 assists, including two layups in the final moments of the game, helping the Lakers win 100-95. As two of the greatest forwards of all time, LeBron and Durant have had many battles over the years, but the respect between the two is extremely high.

Durant talked about this after the game, saying that LeBron is the player by which everyone measures themselves. “After I’ve played a lot of games, throughout my career, you see what he does, watch the highlights,” Durant said. “When I was in high school, we were close my senior year in high school, his third or fourth year in the league, and he was dominant and when I got to college, to the league, he inspired Me, it makes me want to play at that level.

“You just compare yourself to someone and if you can accomplish and achieve some of the things he’s done, that means you’re doing pretty solid for yourself. He’s just your baseline as a player for you to look at. See how great you can be. “He sets an example for everyone in the league. “

There is always one player who is the true measure of a generation. Kobe Bryant has held that position before, as did Michael Jordan before him, but now LeBron James is the player everyone is striving to be, and Durant has been that way throughout his career Do.

However, in this game against the Lakers, Durant was reminded of LeBron’s expert basketball IQ and how difficult it can be to deal with it.

“It’s tough,” Durant added. “He’s basically coaching teams on how to defend certain plays, and that’s what he’s been doing his entire career. Film study is one of the things he’s locked into as a player as he’s gotten older.

“When he won championships, he learned how to watch film and dissect film, and you could see and hear that in the conversations throughout the game. It’s always a battle playing against a high-IQ player like that.”

There are so many ways to impact the game, and even in his 21st season, LeBron understands everything that’s going on unlike any other player in the league. The Lakers are now the beneficiary, helping them get a much-needed win.

Lakers head coach Davin Hamm discusses LeBron James’ 35 minutes against Suns

It’s also worth noting that LeBron James’ playing time increased from 29 minutes in the Lakers’ opener to 35 minutes against the Suns. Lakers head coach Davin Hamm discussed his thoughts on this tonight.

“I mean, I thought we wished we had dragged our feet for most of the first half and things weren’t going anywhere and we weren’t shooting, especially from three,” Ham said. “He had that spirit, that intensity of carrying the team on his shoulders, and I had the timeout. So I went to him and I said, how do we feel? What do we want to do? He answered my question. , you also saw the results.”

LeBron’s minutes are inconsistent and will need to be dealt with on a game-by-game basis. Especially since the Lakers haven’t performed well with him on the bench, Ham may have to rely on him more. But hopefully as the season goes on, they can sort that out.

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