Without a doubt the standard bearers for this most recent era of NBA basketball are Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James, Golden State Warriors superstar Stephen Curry and new Houston Rockets superstar Kevin Durant.
The trio will all go down as some of the best players to ever step foot on an NBA floor and James has faced off with both Durant and Curry on the biggest stages the league has to offer. And while they have gone to war plenty of times, the respect that LeBron has for both Durant and Curry is immense.
James and Durant as forwards have matched up against one another plenty of times over the year and while the Lakers star is the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, he views Durant as the most efficient scorer this league has ever seen as he spoke about on the latest episode of the “Mind the Game” podcast with Steve Nash:
“Not to the capacity he’s done it. And I was reading a stat earlier, the fact that, I don’t wanna speak like you’re not here, but you’re just so f—ing great I like to do it sometimes. He hasn’t shot under 50% since like 2012. And in a league that doesn’t talk about efficiency enough, because I’m one of those efficiency guys. Like I hate going out there, just chucking up shots or looking at the box score and I was maybe 8-for-23 or 9-for-25 or 6-for-18. You’re gonna have those nights for sure, but for the majority of the season, being efficient is something I’ve always prided myself on. And this guy, when it comes to three-level scorer, 3-pointers, mid-range, below the Gary Payton area, below the Malone area and finishing. We haven’t had a scorer as equipped as KD in our league, ever.”
There is no doubt that there has never been a scorer quite like Durant in the history of the league. At 7’0″ with guard skills and one of the best shooters in NBA history, Durant has combined size, skill and efficiency at a level that nobody has ever done.
No one knows more than LeBron just how unbelievable Durant is as he has experienced it all up close plenty of times and the two still have some battles left as any time the Lakers and Rockets face off will be appointment viewing.
Lakers offered LeBron James no extra years on a new contract
LeBron James is set to enter his eighth season as a member of the Lakers and it is unclear whether or not it will be his last. This is the final year on his deal and the Lakers reportedly didn’t offer LeBron extra years on a new contract.
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