LeBron James appeared to be in good spirits during a press conference Thursday (Jun 7), an unusually good mood for someone whose Cleveland Cavaliers lost 110-102 to the Golden State Warriors the night before and had fallen to a dreaded 0-3 in the NBA Finals. Despite all that, James gave an insightful interview and heaped praise onto Kevin Durant whose incredible play propelled the Warriors to the win.
Durant had a game-high 43 points along with 13 rebounds and 7 assists. Stephen Curry only contributed 11 points, 5 rebounds, and 6 assists on a bad shooting night where he was 3/16 from the field. Klay Thompson and Draymond Green each put up 10 points each. On a team that's boasted as a juggernaut with four All-Stars, Durant had to do what others have attributed to LeBron by putting the team on his back.
James called Durant "one of the best players I've ever played against, that this league has ever seen."
He elaborated more on Durant and the young KD during Thursday's media day. He said, "You knew he was built for greatness from the time he was drafted." (12:25)
James then joked saying, "I mean everybody knew that ... besides Portland."
The Portland Trail Blazers made the infamous mistake of taking Greg Oden with the No. 1 pick in the 2007 NBA Draft while Durant was chosen No. 2 by the Seattle Supersonics which are now the Oklahoma City Thunder. Oden went on to become one of the biggest busts in the game because he could never get healthy, and well Durant, we see where he is now.
James apologized to Portland for the dig, but it likely still hurts.
