Despite Kevin Durant's heroics for the Brooklyn Nets throughout the postseason, Chicago Bulls legend Scottie Pippen just refuses to jump on the hype train. While Pip did credit KD for the amazing job he did this season, the Hall of Famer was also quick to sound off on the LeBron James comparisons.
In a recent interview for Yahoo Sports, Pippen explained bluntly why he believes the Nets superstar just isn't at the same level as LeBron:
“Surpassing LeBron James takes a little bit more than an individual effort,” Pippen said, via Larry Brown Sports. “LeBron James is a complete team player who understands team and winning.
“Has (Durant) gotten to that level yet? He went home (in the playoffs) … I think he still has some learning to do in terms of what it takes to will a team to victory.”
Quite a harsh assessment from Pippen here. Especially considering how Kevin Durant left everything on the floor for the Nets. You absolutely cannot fault KD for how his Nets were ousted by the Milwaukee Bucks in the second round. Then again, Pippen's argument still stands in that Durant is no longer contending for a title right now.
Pippen has been a long-time LeBron fan, and he is clearly showing a bit of bias here. The Bulls legend seems to have conveniently overlooked how Kevin Durant won two chips with the Golden State Warriors not too long ago. In spite of the fact that KD played alongside the likes of Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson while with the Dubs, this does not take away from the fact that he's a two-time NBA champion.