Cleveland Cavaliers star LeBron James has never been afraid to give praise to players who deserve them, and on Thursday he was giving them to Golden State Warriors forward Kevin Durant.

When James was asked about Durant coming into the league, James said everyone knew how good the Texas Longhorns star was going to be. Everyone except for the Portland Trail Blazers.

https://twitter.com/World_Wide_Wob/status/1004790348378501122

The Trail Blazers took Greg Oden number one overall, which allowed the Seattle SuperSonics to take Durant with the second pick. Oden was a bust, not really by his own doing but injuries never let his career get on track. Durant made it clear from his first season in the league, that he was going to be a star in the league. He played 80 games in his only season in Seattle averaging 20.3 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 2.3 assists per game.

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Fast forward some years to Game 3 of the NBA Finals, and Durant made it clear with his play that he is one of the best of his generation.

Durant put up 43 points, 13 rebounds, and seven assists and hit the dagger from deep that closed out the game for the Warriors.

“It's a different game, different season,” Durant said via ESPN. “I mean, different feel. Just a different vibe around the team, around just — everything's just different. But I'm not done playing basketball yet, so I don't really look at these as defining moments. I don't want to downplay anything, but I don't want to act like this is the end of the road.”

If Durant can have another game like he did in Game 3, he will probably wrap up the Finals MVP and add to his legacy.