LeBron James was “a little pissed off” when comments made by Kevin Durant about the supposedly “toxic environment” created by the media around James were relayed to him.
“I don’t feel like it’s ever been toxic around me,” says James.
For people who like words instead of pictures (along with pictures? Next to pictures?) here’s the Q & A of my chat with LeBron. We discuss getting older, his sons, whether other players want to play with him, his reaction to KD & (of course) banana boats. https://t.co/GLEhAa2PSK
— Rachel Nichols (@Rachel__Nichols) December 25, 2018
LeBron and KD discussed things, and LBJ says he will not let anyone negatively affect his happiness.
Per ESPN:
One of the guys people have loved to put you with is Kevin Durant. He’s got an option to become a free agent this summer. But then he had quotes recently saying that he doesn’t think it’s comfortable for other elite players to play with you. He called the media environment around you “toxic.” What did you think when you heard him say all that?
LJ: “I was a little pissed off when I first heard it — to be honest. I didn’t know where it stemmed from. So I was pissed, my family was pissed, and my friends were pissed. We just didn’t know why, at this point and time in the season, my name or what I’ve done in my career was kind of talked about like that. I don’t feel like it’s ever been toxic around me. And when I hear ‘toxic,’ I automatically thought, ‘toxic’ is like you don’t wanna be around that because it’s almost like a fatal disease.
“But got a phone call from KD. We talked about it. He mentioned how he felt and how he felt the story took a twist. And as a man, I don’t hold on to things too long. I’m too happy in my life right now, and I don’t hold on to anything that will take away from my happiness.”
So how did you two leave that conversation?
LJ: “Listen, he told me how he felt, and he apologized on how it came out. And I said, all right. We moved on from there.”
