Font ResizeLAS VEGAS -- Kevin Durant can’t hide from the hurt this summer.
LeBron James is right there every time he steps on the basketball court now. The NBA Finals ended in Miami only about three weeks ago, with James’ victory celebration interrupted only briefly to embrace his opponent in a consoling hug.
Durant admits it bothers him coming to the gym and seeing James every day.
"It does. It does, but what can I do?" Durant said Tuesday. "He’s my teammate now. I’m a team player. I can’t let that affect this. This is bigger than that. It’s tough to lose in the finals and play the guy you’ve been going up against for five games who beat you. So me, I’m just going to get over it, still be a great teammate, come out and play hard."
Kobe Bryant was in Durant’s shoes four years ago, having to shake off the disappointment of a finals loss to the Boston Celtics and get back out on the court for the Olympics. He said it’s normal to not want to play for a few days, but figures Durant has had enough time to get over it by now.
"But then again, I wasn’t playing on the Olympic team with, you know, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce and Garnett," Bryant said. "He’s got to look at LeBron every day. I didn’t have to do that. So I don’t know if I could do that. I’d probably be trying to destroy him every single day in practice to try to, I don’t know,
James and Durant are actually friends, James inviting Durant to work out with him last summer in Ohio. That wouldn’t make much difference to Bryant, one of the NBA’s fiercest competitors.
James experienced the heartbreak of a finals loss last year, the Heat beaten by Dallas in their first season together. It was especially difficult on James, who played poorly in the fourth quarters of those games, adding a new level of criticism piled onto what he had already been facing since his departure from Cleveland the previous summer.
