The late great Kobe Bryant once revealed that Kevin Durant was the only player that he couldn’t figure out while playing in the league.
Kobe Bryant is widely regarded as one of the best two-way players the league has ever seen. He was a pretty good defender and used to figure out all his opponents pretty easily.
However, the only player that Kobe wasn’t able to figure out in his career was Kevin Durant. In an interview, Kobe himself talked about it, and he described what made KD different from others.
Kobe said, “Kevin Durant. That was the one that I retired without really being able to figure out what it is– how I can stop him. When he first came into the league, he was easy to defend because he couldn’t go right and shoot. He shot kinda across his face so that was a weakness that he had.”
He added, “Also, in the post, he couldn’t turn left shoulder, everything was right shoulder so that gave me areas that I could shut off. Right then, he started developing so I developed it and now he can pull up left, he can pull upright, he can shoot the long ball, he has runners, left hand, right hand.”
Kobe further talked about how Kevin Durant was able to get better through the course of his career. He said, “Before he had a left-hand finish at the rim, I could always send him left, force him all the way to the basket, even with the advantages of besides, he was still uncomfortable finishing with his left so I could clamp the right hand, and now forced him into a tough situation. But now he’s developed that so I retired not being able to figure him out.”
The skillset that Kevin Durant possesses isn’t seen every day. He is a generational player and everybody knows about it. Being that tall with guard handles and elite shooting is a sight to behold.
Moreover, throughout the course of his career, not many have been able to figure out KD on the offensive end. In the recently concluded playoffs, the Celtics did a great job of minimizing Kevin Durant, but that was the first instance where KD looked helpless.
He has been the go-to guy for every team he has played on since he was a kid. It’s no surprise that Kobe Bryant was also not able to figure out how to stop KD. It is almost impossible for anyone to guard the Slim Reaper 1 on 1, which is why teams double him up more often than not.
Reports have emerged that the Boston Celtics have shown interest in getting Kevin Durant from the Brooklyn Nets. The trade package was centered around all-star player Jaylen Brown and Derrick White.
The Nets reportedly have turned down the offer because they wanted Marcus Smart, the DPOY, to be a part of the deal. The information about these trade rumors for Durant shocked the Celtics fans. The majority of Celtics supporters think Boston is becoming something special and oppose trading Jaylen Brown.
Jayson Tatum also spoke about the potential rumors and said, “I don’t make anything of it, I just play basketball.” He also talked about how he sees Durant as a player, and said, “I’ve played with him during the Olympics. He’s a great player. That’s not my decision. I love our team, love the guys that we got. I don’t know if that report is true or not.”
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