It’s no secret that Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James is one of the greatest players of all time. His Lakers aren’t having the best season, as they currently sit at 23-26 on the season, good for 13th in the Western Conference, but he’s been playing extremely well.
For the past 20 years, James has dominated the league. He’s won four championships (including one with the Lakers in 2020), four MVPs, and is now on the cusp of breaking Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s all-time scoring record. During a recent chat on the NBA’s Hooper Vision stream, Brooklyn Nets superstar Kevin Durant had some high praise for James.
“He’s setting the bar for what an athlete wants to be,” Durant said. “Not everybody can do this. This is like the greatest that you can get. … Especially in our era of basketball, to have someone who accomplished something like that is inspiring to see. It’s gonna set the precedent for basketball players for a long time.”
Durant and James have plenty of experience competing against one another. For two years straight, they met in the NBA Finals when Durant was on the Golden State Warriors, and James was on the Cleveland Cavaliers. Obviously, Durant won both of those battles, taking home two NBA Championships.
This year, Durant is leading the Nets, although he is injured right now, to a top seed in the West. Durant has appeared in 39 of the Nets’ 49 games and is playing 36.0 minutes per contest. The Nets star is averaging 29.7 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 5.3 assists on 55.9% shooting from the floor and 37.6% shooting from behind the three-point line.
As for James, he has played at an MVP level this season as well. He has appeared in 39 of the Lakers’ 49 games and is playing 36.1 minutes per contest. James is putting up 29.9 points, 8.5 rebounds, and 7.0 assists per game on 50.7% shooting from the field and 30.4% shooting from beyond the three-point arc.
Jaylen Brown Sounds Off on LeBron James
Durant isn’t the only player who’s shown love to James in recent days, either. After the Boston Celtics’ loss to the New York Knicks, and ahead of their game against the Lakers, Celtics star Jaylen Brown was asked about what it was like to match up against James in the playoffs early in his career. He said that it was a great experience because James is one of the greatest players of all time.
“I think that experience, you know, experience is the best teacher,” Brown explained via CLNS Media when asked about facing off against James in the playoffs early in his career. “Early on, being able to be thrown into high [intensity] moments, where everybody’s watching again, some of the best players in the world, have kind of led to cultivate the experiences that we get to see now. The growth, the amount of basketball maturity, how to win games, all of that comes into play. So it should be fun, playing against one of the, arguably the greatest player of all time in LeBron James.”
Kawhi Leonard Praises LeBron James
After the Lakers’ loss to the LA Clippers, Kawhi Leonard also had some kind words to say about James, and more specifically, about his ongoing quest to break Abdul-Jabbar’s scoring record.
“I didn’t think of it too much until he’s gotten closer and closer,” Leonard said via Tomer Azarly of Clutch Points. “But yeah, one-of-one talent right there. I mean, you see it for yourself. The way he’s playing at this age. Definitely inspirational for everyone, just to sustain that energy and that mindset to play that long and still wanting to go out and contribute with this effort. So yeah, like I say, he’s an inspiration for everyone.”
