Brooklyn Nets star Kevin Durant understands Michael Jordan was an athlete who transcended sports. Durant also acknowledged Jordan transcends era.
The 2013-14 NBA MVP said Jordan would be the best player in basketball if he were dropped into the league today during an interview with Jay Williams.
This is a different era.@KDTrey5 says it doesn’t matter.
Jordan would still be at the top. pic.twitter.com/nMbohW4E2Y
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) April 19, 2020
The full interview can be seen below:
Durant spoke about what it was like watching Jordan as a kid, calling him the “standard” and saying all eyes were “glued to him” every time he took the floor. Additionally, Durant said Jordan “personified winning and competitiveness.”
The comments come just hours before the premier of “The Last Dance,” a 10-part documentary centering on Jordan and the Bulls during their sixth championship season in 1997-98. The documentary can be seen on ESPN.
While Durant showed reverence to the player many consider to be the greatest in the history of the game, it was not long ago he felt slighted in the “best player in basketball category.”
Back in 2013, Durant appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated, saying he was “tired of being second.” This was just one year after KD and the Oklahoma City Thunder had lost to LeBron James and the “Big Three” Miami Heat in the NBA Finals, and just a few months before Durant would embark on his MVP campaign.
In recent years, however, Durant has seemed more at peace with his status as a superstar in the league. He famously said “I'm Kevin Durant. Y'all know who I am” during a press conference last year in which he also broke down his mentality and challenged reporters.
Durant hopes to regain his status as one of the best in the NBA when he makes his eventual return with the Nets. But on the eve of “The Last Dance,” KD still believes Jordan is second to none.
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