Houston Rockets guard James Harden might not be a fan of Kevin Durant joining the Golden State Warriors.
That’s fine and dandy. It doesn’t mean that Durant himself is unable to recognize a great player when he sees one.
The newest member of the two-time defending Western Conference champs lobbed a ton of praise Harden’s way just recently. It was surprising, but it lacked a bit of merit.
“Nobody really appreciates what he does except for the players in our league,” Durant said, via the Houston Chronicle. “Everybody on the outside doesn’t really appreciate what he brings. Anybody that can put up 29 points, seven rebounds, seven assists and not make the All-NBA team, that’s like a sin to even think about not putting a guy like that on the All-NBA team.”
It’s interesting that Durant would focus solely on offense. The major issue most have regarding Harden is his inability to guard anyone on the other end of the court.
Last year alone, Harden was the Rockets’ third-worst defender (defensive efficiency). That’s definitely not a good sign considering Houston yielded the sixth-most points in the NBA.
In sticking with his theme of defending Harden, the former MVP showed his appreciation for what his rival brings to the table.
“As a player and someone that played with him and a fan of the game I was (angry) because somebody is right here in front of you and you can’t appreciate him,” Durant continued. “If he were to retire tomorrow, we would have so many stories and videos about how great he is, but he’s here right now doing it. Appreciate what he brings.”
It’s an interesting dynamic to look at. Durant joins a Warriors team that has knocked the Rockets out of the playoffs in each of the past two seasons.
He does so with the Rockets themselves continually throwing shade the Warriors’ way in the media.
There’s definitely no love lost between the Rockets and Warriors. Whether that changes with Durant’s recent comments is anyone’s guess.
What we do know is that the two will be doing battle a whole heck of a lot this upcoming season. Let’s see how Durant feels about his rival after a couple head-to-head outings.
For now, it’s nice to see one all-world player show another some respect.