2010 was both nerve-racking and a shot at glory for the young Kevin Durant . At 21 years old, the 6'11" sharpshooter had already established himself as arguably the NBA's deadliest scorer. Of course, there was still Kobe Bryant , who Durant called "probably the best ever" during the 2010 postseason.
While KD was busy praising the five-time NBA champion, he couldn't believe some of the criticism Bryant was facing. Is he "slowing down"? Not in Durant's eyes. Is he no longer the same as he once was?
According to the former Longhorn, things could be better than ever. Not good enough to lead LA past a talented but inexperienced Thunder squad? Yeah, right—the Slim Reaper was biting his nails at the mere thought of having to defend No. 24.
"I don't understand why people say he's lost a step," Durant said during Oklahoma City's first round matchup against Los Angeles, per ESPN.com. "He's the greatest player in the game. There are only a couple guys who can turn it on and off like him and get 15 in a row and also get 10 assists and get their guys involved. He's probably the best ever. You can't say that he's lost a step. He's the same Kobe from a while back, maybe he's not dunking on a lot of guys like he was back in '01, '02 but he's still the same Kobe."
Not the same as Kobe?
Even when he wasn't scoring, Durant knew his team had to be on its edge against the dangerous guard. No. 24 didn't even attempt a shot in a crucial Game 4 until a little over 9 minutes left in the first half. It didn't matter — KD knew the Mamba wasn't ever the one to be complacent against.
"You never know what Kobe is going to do," Durant said after Game 4 . "He can turn it on and off so easily. You got to be ready for him to hit 10 in a row. A guy like that can get hot at any time. [In Game 4] I thought he was going to [go off], but he kind of deferred to his teammates and tried to get everybody involved. It's better when he tries to get everyone involved; that's Kobe Bryant. Once he gets 12 or 13 points in the first quarter, that's the Black Mamba. We want him to be Kobe Bryant, not Black Mamba. Our toughest job is stopping the Black Mamba."
The most accurate statement Durant could've uttered was saying that Bryant can flip a switch easily. When the season was on the line in Game 6, everyone understood this was a Kobe moment. In an opportunity to clinch a playoff series, the Mamba came out with fire in his eyes and torched the Thunder with 32 points on 12-25 shooting overall and 3-4 from the 3-point line, including a breathtaking jumper in Kevin's face with 133 ticks left.
In a game on their homecourt, OKC's young bunch couldn't quite stand up to the imposing aura of Bryant and the Lakers. While he didn't win, at least Durant could walk away with memories of playing against his favorite player.
Related: "It's crazy how it's the same exact dunk, the same exact hoop that Kobe did" - What LeBron James said after recreating the iconic Kobe Bryant dunk
A deep-rooted respect
Even though LeBron James earned many people's votes as the game's best player in 2010, No. 35 felt that Bryant's intensity and tough shot-making put him in a league of his own. Also, No. 24 would snatch his fifth NBA title and consecutive Finals MVPs later that spring to elevate his status in the league and in the GOAT conversation.
"It's hard to fill them shoes and be a Kobe Bryant," voiced Durant in 2022, per ESPN.com. "But Kob is somebody I've been around and still study to this day. And basically I just try to copy everything he does, same with Michael Jordan. Those two guys just set the tone for everything you want to be as a basketball player. So I just simply try to copy them as much as I can."
Related: Jayson Tatum on wearing Kobe Bryant's Team USA jersey number: "An honor to be able to represent this uniform and wear No. 10"
Local Los Angeles, CA
Most Popular
Comments / 0