This LeBron James quote proves he understands why Kevin Durant joined the Warriors
No one can ever take the 2017 championship away from Kevin Durant, and LeBron James knows that better than anyone. James, a three-time champion himself, couldn’t help but recall his own first championship when asked about how he felt about Durant winning.
“Getting that first championship for me was like having my first son,” James said after Game 5. “It was just a proud moment, something that you never, ever forget. And at the end of the day, nobody can — no matter what anybody says from now on in your career or whatever they say, they can never take away from you being a champion.”
James made it clear that he wasn’t happy with losing, of course, but he could appreciate what Durant was feeling. Here’s the full question and quote, per ASAP Sports Transcription.
Q. It was mentioned before that Kevin Durant lost his first NBA Finals when you won your first NBA Finals. Kind of fast forwarding to right now, how is he a different player and a different person since you do know him personally, and even though you're -- obviously you're upset because you lost, how do you feel about him winning that first championship?
LEBRON JAMES: Well, I'm not happy he won his first. I'm not happy at all. But at the end of the day from when I played him in the 2012 Finals to now, like I said, experience is the best teacher in life, and he's just experiencing and experiencing and experiencing. And it also helps when you are able to experience some things with this team as well. He felt like he needed to reassemble and reassess his career and come here.
So like I said, having -- getting that first championship for me was like having my first son. It was just a proud moment, something that you never, ever forget. And at the end of the day, nobody can -- no matter what anybody says from now on in your career or whatever they say, they can never take away from you being a champion. That's something that they are always going to speak about, about you. It may be like the last thing they may say, but they are always going to have to say that you're a champion.
Like I said, when you put in the work and things pay off, then you can always be okay with whatever else that happens in your career.
There has been relentless criticism of Durant for his decision to leave Oklahoma City and join foremost front-runner, which is fine. Some people will never forgive his decision. What doesn’t make sense is the people who both criticize Durant while ridiculing the superstars who didn’t or haven’t won titles. If winning championships are the only thing that matters, Durant going to the Warriors was really the only move that made sense for him.
James, who was relentlessly criticized for not being clutch, not winning enough Finals, and is still getting flak after averaging a triple-double in the loss, is sure to understand this as well as anyone. This answer certainly reflected that.