The rivalry is definitely real, but we know LeBron James likes to be in control of everything!
Only real venom, or a true will to beat an opponent, could produce such a look like the one given below.
With plenty of trash talk to go around — it’s clear to that the Cleveland Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors are rivals, with the added dimension of Kevin Durant bringing more fuel.
Kevin Durant acknowledges the tension, but LeBron James won’t, and probably won’t until he’s ready too or suffers another finals loss.
“We don’t look at it as a rival,” James told Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com. “They’re a great team. They’ve been the best team the last couple years, last three years.”
James was referring to their latest showdown — Monday nigh on Martin Luther King Day.
“It’s just the next game, its Golden State,” James said. “They’re a helluva team, like I said the best team in the league and they’ve been that way the last three years, four years, however long it’s been, I’m not quite sure. But, listen, you guys know, we don’t put all our eggs in one basket for one game.”
Durant wasn’t buying James trying ot simmer the rivalry down either!
“Yeah (it’s a rivalry),” Durant told CSN’s Monte Poole. “I think so.”
“I’m new here, but for the most part the guys in the last two Finals have been playing against each other for a while. From Steph (Curry) to LeBron. to Klay (Thompson) to (Iman) Shumpert, to J.R. Smith and Kyrie … and Draymond, it’s a group of players that are familiar with each other.
“It’s good for our game. It’s good for competition and it should be fun,” Durant added.”
Only rivals would call out each other on their antics, like Klay Thompson did this week — calling out the Cavaliers for their perceived “childish” antics, and who can forget Iman Shumpert letting it be known that the Cavs want to “bust the Warriors ass.”
Flip The Page To See Video of James Calling The Warriors The NBA’s Best: