Kobe Bryant Calls Kevin Durant The Toughest Player He Ever Guarded

I have been trying to tell you that Kevin Durant is the best basketball player on the planet. You don’t have to like the guy. I think don’t like how he lets stupid shit bother him. Say whatever you want about Durant, he’s the best player and it’s not close. Once again we have another piece of evidence that shows that Durant is the best player on the planet.

In a recent interview with Alex Rodriguez and Dan Katz on The Corp podcast, Kobe Bryant called Kevin Durant the toughest player he’s ever had to guard:

“Kevin Durant. Kevin Durant. That was the one I retired without being able to figure out how I can stop him.

When he first came into the league, he was easy to defend because he couldn’t go right and shoot. He used to kind of shoot across his face, so that was a weakness that he had. Also in the post, he couldn’t turn left shoulder, everything was right shoulder, so that gave me areas that I could shut off.

Then he started developing it. And now he can pull up left, he can pull up right, he can shoot the long ball, he has runners, left hand, right hand. Before he had a left hand finish at the rim, I could always send him left, force him all the way to the basket. Even with the advantage of his size, he was still uncomfortable finishing with his left. So I could clamp the right hand and force him in a tough situation.

But now he developed that. So then I couldn’t really figure out, is this a rhythm thing? I’m trying to count the seconds that he takes to make his move. When does he make them, at what times in the game? I couldn’t really figure out that rhythm.

So I retired not being able to figure him out.”

Well, well, well, what do you know… Did Bryant mention LeBron James in that sentence? Nope. Trust me, I do not like Kobe Bryant. I am not a Kobe fan. Never have been. Never will be. But, I’m not going to deny that the guy is smart. That’s why Durant is tough to guard and why LeBron is predictable. LeBron thinks he’s the coach and runs that stupid isolation offense where everyone stands around. It’s trash. I don’t need to explain it any further because I have 500 times already. Durant told you all that you need to know when he talked about why no one wants to play with LeBron.

I will say, The Corp is worth a listen. I’m getting through it slowly but it’s a great podcast. The Arod and Big Cat tandem works. I’m two episodes in out of the 7 and I can say it gives great insight. Barstool delivered.