There’s no jealousy between the NBA’s two best players (and leading MVP candidates.) If anything, they push each other to perform at the highest level. Per ESPN:
Asked before Saturday’s game against Charlotte if, at this point in his career he’s beyond trying to match big performances he sees from others around the league, James shook his head and grinned.
“Nah, I ain’t beyond that. I ain’t beyond that at all,” James said. “I love when I see K.D. do something like that. It gives me an incentive. I don’t get that many shots around here, but I might be able to do a little something. I might be able to get a couple of dunks.”
One day after watching Kevin Durant erupt for 54 points, LeBron James said, “I love when I see K.D. do something like that. It gives me an incentive.” … “I do a lot of checking and seeing what guys have done overnight,” James said of keeping up with the performances of other players. “After every game, I always go … and see what guys did. I didn’t have to look too far to see what K.D. did last night. As soon as I looked at my phone, a family member of mine said, ‘K.D. had 54, you only had 21. You stink.’ So, there it is.”
“Once a scorer like that gets going, you ain’t going to stop him,” James said. “I saw like the last 20 points he had, and they were all contested jumpers. He was hitting … barely touching the net. When you’re in a zone like that, it doesn’t matter as a defender. There’s nothing you can do about it. It was a big-time, big-time game for him.”
