Durant is like a super-sized Ray Allen or a more skilled/agile Glen Rice, while LeBron is a freak of nature... Karl Malone size/Magic Johnson playmaking/ and MJ athleticism. To me LBJ, has more weapons at his disposal, he still doesn't shoot well, doesn't post up well but we don't know if he will. Durant seems like someone who will definitely maximize his gifts
Bird, Magic, Kobe, TD. These guys are solid but not great in athletic ability and they are all time greats since 80s. On the other hand, Wilt and Shaq are probably the only 2 that're not very skilled but very successful. Both are centers. I'll take good athleticism + great skills over great athleticism + good skills any day of the week.
I'm a Durant fan, but he'll never be able to reproduce the series Lebron had against the Magic last year. It's just that simple. Nothing wrong with second best, though.
The stats he put up last few years have been among the top 5 greatest single seasons in the history of the NBA. So you really can't get much better than what he has been doing. Durant had westbrook who was a huge reason they had any chance against the lakers.
Durant has mastered an incredibly reliable jumpshot. That itself opens up so many options on offense, since defenders have to get up close to stop his jumpshot. This will also allow Durant to get a great first step ahead of his opponent. Though in the future driving in the lane is not even necessary for Durant. He is 6 ft 11 with a ridiculous wingspan. With a little more weight, I don't see anyone stopping him. Not to mention, his play style will allow him to stay in this league for a very very long time, especially with the height and wingspan advantage which will never deteriorate. When it's all said and done, Durant will have a lot more points than Lebron.
Who's the last player that led a team to championship and known for extraordinary passing skills? As a matter of fact, since 90s, no championship guard dominated on assists number. And high assists do not equal to good play making skills. AI once averaged 30.7/7.9. LeBron played the same style. His only edge over AI was a bigger body and thus more efficient in scoring.
Durant will be the great scorer of this generation. The next AI. But LeBron, while I hate the guy, is amazing. He does everything.
b/c nobody can do the things that lebron can do. just b/c no one has done it doesn't mean it can't be done. michael jordan led the bulls in points and assists in the playoffs in their 2nd championship. and he averaged 6 assists for his playoffs career. lebron averages 7 for his playoffs career. you can bring up allen iverson's assists, but he wasn't an EFFICIENT player for the # of plays he dominated. lebron IS the most efficient perimeter player in the league for the # of plays he dominates. it's a ridiculous comparison. the guy is 25. he has 9-10 more years to win his multiple rings.
And nobody won back to back MVP and lost to underdog in both years. No team won back to back 60 wins and didn't reach finals. LeBron is indeed very unique. LeBron never proved he could work with a post player BTW, he may be efficient, but forcing the bigmen to be jump shooters isn't efficient for the overall team.
this argument is so r****ded. durant will never be better than lebron. lebron does everything better than durant except shoot the long ball and free throws. you know what lebron will do that is better than durant? take it to the hole and score, pass, rebound, dribble, play defense, etc. if miami just decided to trade for durant....okc would say yes in a heartbeat. i bet that okc would even give up westbrook in that trade too. i don't even really like lebron, but that beast is a once in a lifetime player. just like shaq, as much skill as he lacks....shaq would be the #1 pick at any era of basketball just because of his size and athleticism. no matter how talented any other player got, no one would be drafted over shaq in a fantasy draft of all time.......(save maybe Magic Johnson or Michael Jordan - depending on what you're trying to build...)
If you did a all-time fantasy draft, Shaq would be a top 5 pick for sure, but not first overall. Like I said though, Lebron is the best basketball prospect since Shaq. Shaq was raw, but he was unstoppable beast.
it'll be "kind" of hard to do that now so he has to elevate his all-around game even more if he wants to impress the voters. but you're right, if he stayed in cleveland, he most likely would have won the next 5-7 MVP awards in landslide fashion.
Nah, he's not gonna collect another until he wins a championship first. Name a 3 times MVP that never won **** in history. As dumb as journalists, you can fool them twice but not three times.
It's for regular season, but you don't pick a guy every year only to lose in playoff, not 3 times. It's a popularity contest to begin with.
