Kevin Durant Once Admitted to Viewing Prime Rival LeBron James as ‘God’ While Growing Up

Every era has great players who become rivals at one point or another. Bill Russell had Wilt Chamberlain, Magic Johnson had Larry Bird, Michael Jordan had Isiah Thomas, and so on. In this era, LeBron James and Kevin Durant have been rivals at some point or another. They have played each other in three NBA Finals and have had historical battles against each other. But at a point in time, KD viewed LeBron as a “God”.

James was the talk of the nation when he was in high school. He was dubbed ‘The Chosen One’ and was even seen on the cover of Sports Illustrated. He garnered enough attention that his high school games were telecasted on ESPN and pay-per-view.

And he went as the number one overall pick in the 2003 NBA draft to the Cleveland Cavaliers. And he hasn’t looked back ever since.  At the same time, a young Kevin Durant was watching LeBron James getting all the attention and the spotlight when he was growing up.

Kevin Durant says he’s seen LeBron James grow from a high school player

Back in 2018, James and Durant had an interview with Cari Champion, which went viral. In the interview, Durant asked a question to LeBron on how he has been able to grow from a high school player to a father figure with three kids. Along with that, Durant called ‘The King’ something else.

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He said, “I see Bron grow from being this, like as a high school player like 9th grader… Like literally a god to us. You know what I am saying.”

Durant has admitted in the past that when he was coming to the NBA, James was the guy that everyone was talking about. And this motivated him and pushed him to become a better player. KD also stated that the only person who he was looking up to since the 2011 NBA Finals was LeBron James.

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The duo share a great relationship and are friends off the court. But on it, they are fierce competitors and have had some legendary games against each other.

What is your favorite memory of these two NBA legends facing off against each other on the court? Please share your thoughts in the comments below.