Although the Cleveland Cavaliers couldn’t bring a title home against Kevin Durant and the Warriors, LeBron James has often gotten credit for his all-around performance from 2016 to 18. The ‘King’ was a solo star and managed to take the Cavs to the Finals for three straight seasons, with minimal help. Fans have often considered him the best player despite the back-to-back final losses. However, Paul Pierce believes KD was a better performer during his time with the Warriors than LBJ was! Here’s some reasoning.
Durant played a crucial role for the Golden State Warriors after they succumbed to the Cavs 4-3 in 2016. He helped the team to give back an answer. So it’s safe to say that the Dub Nation might have not made it to the Finals if the ‘Slim Reaper’ had not arrived. And that is why Paul Pierce believes KD was deadly with the famous franchise.
In a podcast episode with his former teammate Kevin Garnett, Pierce shared, “One of the greatest scorers, but this the thing with me with Kevin Durant. I put him at one point the best player in the league over LeBron when he was in Golden State. And so, my expectation of him is a little higher.”
Well, the 2008 champion has opened yet another new angle for a debate between LBJ and KD now. But let’s see what the stats have to say.
Both had very similar averages from 2016 to 18. Both NBA MVPs averaged at least 25 points in the three seasons. But there was a difference in the two finals they faced each other. In 2017, Durant had better numbers, with an average of 35.2 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 5.4 assists in 5 games. However, in 2018, James was better with 34.0 points, 10.0 assists, and 8.5 rebounds in 4 games.
KD was able to average these impeccable numbers for a few reasons. Let’s take a look.
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In 2018, LBJ was a dominant force on the offense with Kyrie Irving’s exit to the Boston Celtics. Although it helped him drop great numbers in the postseason, he did not have another superstar like Irving to rely on offense. For Durant, there was the ‘Splash Brothers’. The Warriors were deadly in offense, all the three seasons KD was with them. One mistake by the defense and hell broke loose for Dub Nation’s opponents.
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LeBron James had no choice but to top the stats in all ways possible. He had unmatched numbers in points, rebounds, assists, blocks, and steals, in the Finals especially. Despite all these monstrous performances, the Warriors swept the Cavs 4-0 in the 2018 Finals and 4-1 in the 2017 Finals. Pierce’s take on Durant performing better than James is very valid when it comes to stats. However, the L-Train was no less of a danger back then.
