Kevin Durant Says Players Dislike “Toxic” Environment Around LeBron James

Kevin Durant is letting his sentiments about playing with LeBron James out to the public. Bleacher Report recently did a piece on the climate of the NBA when it comes to James. The articles dives into the dynamics of playing with the most talked about player in the NBA. Several players are interviewed about how playing with James can change everything from play style to media attention. No one’s comments hit as hard as Durant’s though. 

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“If you’re a younger player like a Kawhi, trying to pair him with LeBron James doesn’t really make sense,” Durant claimed. “Kawhi enjoys having the ball in his hands, controlling the offense, dictating the tempo with his post-ups; it’s how he plays the game. A lot of young players are developing that skill. They don’t need another guy.” He continued on to comment on the media’s obsession with everything that James does. “So much hype comes from being around LeBron from other people,” Durant stated. “He has so many fanboys in the media. Even the beat writers just fawn over him. I’m like, we’re playing basketball here, and it’s not even about basketball at certain points. So I get why anyone wouldn’t want to be in that environment because it’s toxic. Especially when the attention is bullshit attention, fluff. It’s not LeBron’s fault at all; it’s just the fact you have so many groupies in the media that love to hang on every word. Just get out of the way and let us play basketball.”