LeBron James: Kevin Durant is my chief adversary

If you’re wondering who LeBron James views as his primary competition in the NBA, the answer is Kevin Durant.

During an interview with ESPN’s Rachel Nichols, LeBron identified Durant, not Kobe Bryant, or Derrick Rose, or anyone else, as the player that pushes him the most.

“For him to continue to work hard … he’s going to be my inspiration,” James said. “He’s going to be the person that I look at each and every night to see what he did in a game so I can match him. [He’s] someone I want to compete with year after year.”

The two worked out together last summer, and LeBron described Durant as his brother.

“First of all, he’s a hell of a player,” James told Nichols. “And he’s a great person, too.”

Even though LeBron has stated in the past that his goal is to become a global icon, he was specific about strictly basketball-related goals.

“I want to be up there with those names, with those all-time greats and all-time champions,” he said.

Now that James has won one title, the question is how many will he end up winning? If he wins another two or more, he’ll easily make the list of top 10 players all time. He has the potential to be even higher.

It’s also interesting that he points to Durant as his main competition. There was a lot of hype about Kobe and LeBron the last few years, but Bryant is at the end of his career. The battle that will persist is between James, who is 27, and Durant, who is only 23.

Photo Credit: Robert Mayer-US PRESSWIRE