Getty Kevin Durant and LeBron James
After the Phoenix Suns wrapped up practice on April 4, Kevin Durant talked about Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James.
Durant and James will face each other on April 7 for the first time since December 25, 2018.
“It’s been amazing,” Durant said about competing against James. “Just being in the league the same time as him. Just somebody whose a ultimate competitor. Somebody that you inspired by. … It’s always been a mutual respect amongst us two. It’s always been great battles when we play against each other.”
“I was surprised.”
Kevin Durant on having not played against LeBron James since 2018.
Durant and James are two of the greatest players in NBA history. The two All-Stars have combined to win five regular-season MVPs, six championships and six Finals MVPs. KD and LeBron will both be future Hall of Famers one day.
For the Brooklyn Nets and Suns, Durant is averaging 29.3 points, 6.7 rebounds and 5.1 assists this season. Meanwhile, James is putting up 28.8 points, 8.5 rebounds and 6.9 assists per game for the Lakers. The Suns are in fourth place in the Western Conference standings, while the Lakers are in seventh place.
Durant has a 6-15 record versus James in his career. However, the former is 2-1 against the latter in the Finals.
Kevin Durant Wants LeBron James’ Son to Play College Basketball
Durant wants James’ son, Bronny, to play college basketball instead of going overseas. Bronny just finished his senior year of high school.
“There’s still some amazing talent in college right now,” Durant said on his podcast back in March. “With so many different routes — the OTEs, going overseas, guys going to Australia — all that stuff is cool. But still going to college, I feel like that’s a great route because it’s still on the big stage. You still got to show who you are on that big stage and the tournament is still a huge thing. … I would love to see Bronny in college instead of going the other route. Yeah, disappearing basically. That’s really what it is. I wanna see Bronny hoop. I wanna be in real-time, see what he’s doing and follow his journey.”
Bronny will be eligible for the 2024 draft. LeBron, who signed a two-year extension with the Lakers last summer, told The Athletic’s Jason Lloyd in February 2022 that he would do anything to play with Bronny. No father has played with or against his son in the NBA.
“My last year will be played with my son,” LeBron said. “Wherever Bronny is at, that’s where I’ll be. I would do whatever it takes to play with my son for one year. It’s not about the money at that point.”
Kevin Durant: ‘I Don’t Care About Legacy’
After the Suns beat the Minnesota Timberwolves on March 29, Durant spoke with Shams Charania of The Athletic for an exclusive interview. Durant told Charania that he no longer cares about his NBA “legacy.”
“I don’t care about legacy,” Durant said. “I used to. I used to want to carve out a lane or space in this game for myself that people can remember, but it’s become too much of a thing now. It just becomes too much of a focus on other people. What’s he done, what’s he done? Comparisons. Before, when we wasn’t doing all this debating, I cared about it … I’m about to be in the same breath as these top guys. It was big. Nowadays, I truly, truly don’t care. I truly just want to go out there and produce, be the best that I could be, go home, hang with my family, that’s it.”
Durant is a two-time champion, two-time Finals MVP, one-time regular-season MVP, four-time scoring champion and 13-time All-Star.
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Suns’ Kevin Durant Issues Strong Statement on Lakers’ LeBron James