Future NBA Hall of Famer Paul Pierce is not retracting nor backing down from his statement after he told the world that he believes Kevin Durant, small forward for the Golden State Warriors has overtaken LeBron James, small forward of the Cleveland Cavaliers, as the best player in today's NBA. In an interview with Ananth Pandian of Dime magazine, Paul Pierce goes into detail about why he believes that the best player in the NBA at this moment in time is still Kevin Durant.

Here is what Paul Pierce had to say

"When you take a look at Kevin Durant, he’s bringing something to the game we’ve never seen," he says LeBron was the same way, but before LeBron "tagged along", there was never a 6-foot-8 individual who possessed this type of "speed, athleticism, ball handling and just everything else".

And now, we see a similar thing with Kevin Durant. Pierce says he has never seen this mix ever – "A seven footer, who runs a pick and roll at the top, who shoots the ball the way he does."

This is not the first time that Paul Pierce has stated he believed that Kevin Durant is the best player in the NBA. The first time he made this statement was during the 2017 NBA Finals after the Golden State Warriors took a 2-0 lead against the Cleveland Cavaliers. After the Warriors won Game 2 of their Finals series against the Cavaliers, Pierce made a bold statement regarding the Durant-LeBron matchup. This what he had to say: "Six helps today around evening time. 10 or more bounce back. He (Kevin Durant) might be the best player on the planet today.

Today. That is to say; we are on the last stage. LeBron is giving you high numbers. What wouldn't he be able to (KD) do? What wouldn't he be able to do on the court?"

So is Durant the best player in the world?

If there were a time to believe that Kevin Durant was the world's best basketball player it would be right now at this moment in time.

At the age of 28, he won the 2017 NBA Finals MVP award after averaging a stat line of 35.2 points, 8.2 rebounds, 5.4 assists in the finals to lead the Golden State Warriors to beat the Cleveland Cavaliers in five games to secure the Warriors' second title in three seasons.

Whether you are a Team LeBron or Team Durant, Pierce does make an excellent point.

"If you're the guy that's the best player on the best team and you're winning championships, I think you are the best player." That being said, basketball is not a one-man game and Durant has an all-star team made up of the likes of Stephen Curry, Draymond Green and Klay Thompson (to name a few) by his side as well. Do you agree with Paul Pierce's comments? Is Durant really better than LeBron James?