NBA Players: 3 Reasons why Kevin Durant will never be as highly regarded as LeBron James

LeBron James and Kevin Durant are two of the biggest stars in the NBA. Both of these players are the top draws for their respective teams. LeBron James plays for the Los Angeles Lakers and is often considered as the best basketball player in the world and regarded by some as the greatest of all time. Kevin Durant recently signed with the Brooklyn Nets after spending three years with the Golden State Warriors and winning two NBA Championships.

These two players are compared most of the times and were also hated for their moves for winning the title with an already well established team consisting of All Stars (James' move to Heat and Durant's move to the Warriors).

Over the years, there has been a huge ongoing debate about who is better, Durant or James. In this list we will take a look at three reasons which makes James better than Durant in terms of on court abilities.

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#3 Overall abilities

Washington Wizards v Los Angeles Lakers

James is one of the best overall players in the league. He is great at getting his teammates involved. James makes the most out of a team and his vision is second to none. Apart from scoring a lot of points every game, he gets a lot of assists, rebounds and steals.

LeBron averages 27.1 points, 7.4 rebounds and 7.2 assists per game. He holds first place in the all-time list for career assists by a forward with 8,300 and has racked up the fourth highest points in the history of the league.

Durant is an efficient scorer and a good rebounder but apart from scoring, he is not as good as LeBron in terms of passing ability and basketball IQ. While KD may be a better defender right now, at his peak, LeBron James was amongst the best defenders in the league, a level which Durant has never reached.

KD is a decent playmaker but not as good as LeBron. He averages only 4 assists per game. Durant is still younger than LBJ and could go on to improve his game but as of now, King James is clearly a better player overall.

If a team needs a dangerous scorer they will pick Durant but if it needs a player who can attack, defend and make every player better, they will definitely go for James, the complete player.

#2 Leadership

KD guarding LeBron

LeBron James is a born leader and makes a significant impact whenever he steps on the court.

Since the beginning of his career (with the Cavaliers), he made a strong start and took Cleveland to the playoffs every year besides his rookie year. With Miami Heat, he won two championships as the main guy. All-Stars Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh shined under his command.

The King returned to Cleveland and led them to their first NBA Championship defeating the Warriors in an incredible 3-1 comeback in the Finals (along with four Finals appearances). In the 2018 season, Los Angeles Lakers signed him to build the team around him, proving his leadership qualities.

Kevin Durant is a phenomenal player but he is not a great leader like James. KD was not able to win the title with OKC Thunder despite the presence of Russell Westbrook. He left for the Warriors, which was already a strong side and considered as Steph Curry's team. Durant was never considered as a player who could take command of the locker room.

KD will now be playing for the Brooklyn and could help the team and match up with LeBron in terms of leadership. For now, it is clear that LeBron is a better floor general and unites the team more often.

#1 Individual accolades

Golden State Warriors v Los Angeles Lakers

In terms of individual accolades, LeBron James is untouchable. In the regular season he is a four-time MVP and is the only player in NBA history to record at least 31,000 points, 8,000 rebounds, and 8,000 assists. Durant won the MVP only once in 2014 and trails behind James in all the statistical categories.

King James is even better when it comes to defense, he has been selected to the NBA All-Defensive first team a whopping five times in a row (2009 to 2013) and was close to winning the Defensive Player of the Year two times.

Durant is a good defender and has improved a lot over the years but he never featured in the All NBA Defensive teams even once in his career.

Both the players are incredibly talented and are often compared but LeBron has a huge lead in terms of personal achievements over his counterpart. Durant has a lot of time to catch up with James but it won't be easy for him.

Off the court, LeBron is a celebrity and a well known figure, and is also known as the face of the NBA. KD is also popular but does not possess the same star power as King James.

James will lead the Lakers with new additions Anthony Davis and DeMarcus Cousins, while Durant is recovering from his Achilles tendon injury and in all likelihood will be only back by the 2020-21 NBA season to play for the Nets.