Durant: LeBron has nothing to do with my career

Kevin Durant about Lebron

Brooklyn Nets player Kevin Durant decided to chat with fans on social networks and answer some questions.

So, one of the fans decided to ask about whether LeBron James was the one who predetermined his career.

Durant categorically replied:

— “Nothing like that, lol.” 

The Instagram user immediately reminded the basketball player of the parallels in his career and James. He noticed that, as a four-time MVP, Durant teamed up with other star players in the Golden State Warriors, and then wanted to return to the old team (Oklahoma Thunder).

— “I, as an NBA player, want to try out various options, get as much experience as possible. As a basketball player, I go to the ideal. For me it doesn’t matter what shirt I wear, I want all this before I finish my career. If this does not work out, then I will try in another. But each club gave me something, I got experience and moved on. This is called evolution. James has nothing to do with it,” — said Durant.

Durant is distinguished by the highest sensitivity to any destabilizing factors, he is woven from quirks and contradictions: he underestimates his growth so that he doesn’t have to play the central role.

Kevin Durant has long been considered as an antipode of LeBron James. All sorts of attempts to maintain the image of a good guy, lack of desire to be in the center of attention and be responsible for everything inside his team. 

K-D doesn’t look like a King at all, but the point is a bit different. LeBron is the main player of the generation, who opened a new era by the Decision to unite with Wade and Bosch in “Miami”. But the ideal personification of this era was precisely Kevin.

Durant is the rarest example of an unconditionally elite athlete who is much more comfortable going into the shadows rather than sticking out his talents. He cannot (or doesn’t want) leave emotional torment, modesty, and vulnerability outside the parquet, because of which, during some matches, a backpack with character traits is invisibly felt behind him.

Most likely, Kevin just doesn’t want to include a different regime on the site, because this is not necessary: ​​unique natural data allow you to dictate the conditions and force others to adapt to it, and not vice versa. All this is just the result of a desire, simple in nature, not to leave the comfort zone.

It just so happens that Kevin used to step aside during the endings. From time to time, of course, he turned on and won matches (including large ones) more than once, but here it’s necessary to understand the fact: he was never considered the first option of the team in crucial minutes.

While the striker was playing at Oklahoma, it wasn’t difficult to come up with an explanation: the wicked and very bad Russell Westbrook pulled a blanket over himself and didn’t give K-D a ball, trying to solve everything on his own. From this point of view, the RVB is almost an ideal teammate, because such a player delightfully performs the functions of a lightning rod.

While Russell plays with you, you will never be guilty of anything in the eyes of the public, because any action will quickly find a convenient explanation.

Beast from the West

He has more triple-doubles than Michael Jordan and LeBron James combined. 

It is curious that LeBron James also uses similar technology, but in his case, the trainer plays the role of a lightning rod. Mike Brown, Tyrone Liu, Luke Walton – it doesn’t matter. By the age of 33, Erik Spoelstra remains the strongest mentor in the King’s career, a strong specialist, but still not Greg Popovich or Phil Jackson.

And in the first independent seasons in “Miami” he was totally cool at the first opportunity, as later on, David Blatt and Tyrone Liu got to “Cavaliers”, and now he arrives at “Lakers” to Luke Walton. LeBron just doesn’t need an elite coach.

But here Kevin goes to the Golden State and the situation remains the same. He gives key shots to Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, and when you still have to come to the fore due to injuries to partners, a foul-troubles or lack of a timeout, it turns out so-so.

Today, he dragged the team in a meeting with Dallas, but buried it with his hand, brushing the last seven out of eight shots. And even though the shots themselves were quite common for K: average distance, good defense of Harrison Barnes, attack from a height inaccessible to the opponent. And miss. And then more and more.

Now Durant is in the top ten points on average per match: 1.9 points with 21.1% from the game and 0% from behind the arc. The sample is quite good: the Golden State got into the ending eight times and during this time received only 15 points from the leader.

Klay Thompson, for comparison, has 2.1 points, but with 41.2% of hits. And Stephen Curry has 3.5 with 44.3% from the game and 40% from behind the arc. Even Andre Iguodala, tired of injuries, is gaining 1.5 points (66.7%) in the clutch. What is most sad, this is more than a familiar picture for recent years.

Season 2016/17. Durant in the clutch: 2.9 points (21st place in the NBA), 44.4% from the game, 51.4% from behind the arc. Curry has 3.8 points. Stef is the main option of the team, in the end, K-Dee has a lot of isolation.

Season 2017/18. Durant in the clutch: 3.6 points (8th place in the NBA), 56.3% of the game. Curry has 3.9. Kevin rarely takes over but gets a lot. All since Kerr rebuilt the model of the game in the decisive possessions: Steve is still the main weapon, but now the forward most often end without isolation.

Perhaps Kevin just takes care of himself and does not give all the best in the regular season, but gives everyone the heat in the playoffs when it is really needed? That’s where we got to the most interesting!

Playoffs 2015/16: Durant – 1.3 points per match (35th place). 20% of the game, 33% from behind the arc in 10 meetings. Westbrook throws less often (1.7 attempts against 2), but gaining an average of one and a half times more (1.9). ACS gives five endings and crashes, and Kevin changes the club.

Playoffs 2016/17: Durant – 4.7 points per match (7th place). The figure is overestimated due to the small sample: CD took part in only three endings. But Curry still has higher performance (5.3).

Playoff 2017/18: Durant – 2.1 points per match (20th place), 30% from the game, 33.3% from behind the arc. Curry has 3.2 points (54.5% – 66.7%). Here the selection is more solid – seven endings.

So, Kevin left the “Oklahoma” after the playoffs, in which he threw Russell Westbrook in the clutch more often and got less often than him. For the third season in a row, he remains at the new place the second option in the endings: he is very good as a spear tip and final destination of combinations, but much less effective in isolation.

That is, he simply does not always succeed in simply taking the ball and solving one-on-one, although in our memory, of course, hits remain in the first place. But it is precisely at a distance that K-D is no better than Stephen Curry, no matter which way you look.

Now try to guess how many times over the last four Durant playoffs in Oklahoma (starting from the 2011/12 season, when the team reached the final and began to be perceived as an unconditional contender) did Westbrook throw more often than an all-star partner in a clutch?

One. In 2014, when the Thunder lost to San Antonio in the final of the conference in six matches. RVB had 5.1 attempts, K-Dee – 3.7. But here there is a small touch: for nine endings, Russell gave 12 assists and made seven losses. But the statistics of Kevin – the same seven losses, but with a single assist.

But the most amazing thing is: the stereotype of evil and greedy egoist named Russell Westbrook, who didn’t give the clever Durant a ball in the endings and eventually forced him to leave for quality help, is still alive. And moreover, every year it only grows stronger.

I’m so naturally arranged that my physical needs often don’t match my feelings

Here’s the thing: Kevin Durant is the last person in the NBA who needs help. LeBron needs it, which is why the first half of the regular season turns into a casting for the Lakers. James Harden needs it. And indifferent to Jimmy Butler. And looking for a better life, KawaiLenard. But not Durant.

Because he is a help.

K-D doesn’t strive to be an alpha male or a monarch choking on his authority. He doesn’t want to make 60 shots per match and is constantly in the spotlight. Kevin needs only three conditions: being in the comfort zone, fighting for the title and the willingness of others to accept him for who he is.

Durant just wants to play basketball and feel comfortable in his unlike little world, and everything else is secondary. This doesn’t make him good or bad. It makes him different. That’s all.

No one has ever had such elite and comprehensive help in the history of basketball. After all, Kevin knows everything on the site. It is funny that the most gifted and individually strong generation basketball player is essentially a complementary player and doesn’t feel any disappointment in this regard.

The main difference between the K-D and LeBron is precisely in this, and not in the image of a good guy or fake accounts on Twitter. For some, the race for heritage is more important; for others, the search for their place in life.

Kevin seems to have found his.