LeBron James knew he had to make a big move in order to win his first NBA championship.
After seven seasons with the Cleveland Cavaliers to start his NBA career, James opted to jump ship to the Miami Heat in search of his long-awaited title. The move worked, as he wound up winning two championships during his four seasons in Miami.
Kevin Durant faced a similar scenario in Oklahoma City with the Thunder, and the star forward took matters into his own hands in hopes of becoming a champion. After nine seasons in OKC, Durant joined the already loaded Golden State Warriors in free agency. The vaunted Warriors have fulfilled expectations, as they’re just one win away from completing a sweep of the Cavaliers in the 2017Â NBA Finals.
But while both James and Durant made drastic career moves, the Cavs star doesn’t believe their paths are all too similar.
“I don’t think our careers are the same, as far as changing teams,” James said, as transcribed by ForTheWin. “Their team was already kind of put together. And you just implement a guy who’s ready to sacrifice — a great talent, a guy who’s willing to do what ever it takes to help the team win. But that team, they already knew what they were all about, and he just had to come in and do what he had to do. And that’s what he’s been doing.
“For me, when I left (Cleveland) to go to Miami, we had to build something. We brought in eight or nine guys, and we had to build something. And when I came back (to Cleveland) we had to build something again.”
James makes a good point. Durant joined a Golden State team that had made the Finals in the previous two seasons without him. But still, we imagine it wasn’t too difficult for James to build something with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.
KD caught a lot of flack for fleeting to the Bay Area, but we don’t think he’ll care too much if he has a championship ring on his finger.
Thumbnail photo via David Richard/USA TODAY Sports Images
