Kevin Durant was asked about LeBron James, and the impact he has had on KD's career. The one time MVP responded with a strong, appreciative statement. Considering all the battles King James and Easy Money Sniper have had over their careers. Whether it be the NBA finals, their regular season battles or even the fight for the illustrious MVP trophy. The respect between eachother is still present.
Kevin Durant's comment on LeBron James
"I respect LeBron just as much as I respect anybody in here, I respect all the guys that work on their games and continue to get better."
This compliment from KD shows the side of NBA basketball that most fans do not see.
Players do battle on the court every night and rarely show their respect for the opponents while on the hardwood. But off the court, for the most part, great players respect and appreciate other great players. As KD states, he respects anyone who works on their games and continues to get better. Something LeBron has been doing for his whole career.
Are the Cavs and Warriors rivals?
The brings up the question, are the Cavs and Warriors really rivals? By watching the NBA, it seems obvious that these two teams hate eachother and want nothing more than to tear eachother apart on the basketball court after facing off in the last two NBA finals. And while that is true, there is also a significant amount of respect between both teams, something which often gets underlooked.
Draymond Green also commented on his respect for LeBron James and the brands he associates himself with. Stating: "I think when you look around a lot of things that LeBron has done, he's done it the right way. He's done a great job. Whether it's with a great team around him or whether it's the way he's taking care of his body and going the extra mile with that or the brands he's aligned himself with." Draymond added to this by saying he might look to copy the decisions King James has made, as he feels he has made great ones.
He recited the infamous statement, if it's not broken, don't fix it.
Although the respect is clearly there between these two teams, you can still, expect the same competitive natured competition between the two teams if they face off again in the NBA finals. No opposing players are friends when they step in between the lines, so I wouldn't doubt that there is no love lost. But at the end of the day, what we do know is that if the Cleveland Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors face off once again in the finals, it should be a good one!