Former Minnesota Timbervolves superstar McCants made the claim during an appearance on Gilbert Arenas’ Gil’s Arena program.
McCants said that Durant’s legacy has been “ruined” by the media, and that he is not as marketable as James.
“I think the real players know that Kevin Durant will be considered a better basketball player than LeBron James. But that, at the end of their careers, not now. When you look at LeBron, Steph [Curry] and KD, the promotion of the first two is broad.” McCants said.
“KD’s, in turn, is narrow. I don’t know if he [KD] is presentable and marketable, but the other two have more commercials”, McCants added.
Arenas agreed with McCants, and said that the media is to blame for the legacy gap between the two players.
“The media ruined Durant’s legacy when he left the Thunder. Likewise, LeBron was attacked when he signed with the Miami Heat ,” Arenas pointed out.
Arenas pointed out that Durant was criticized when he left the Oklahoma City Thunder to join the Golden State Warriors, and that James was also criticised when he left the Cleveland Cavaliers to join the Miami Heat.
Despite the criticism, both Durant and James have won multiple NBA championships.
Durant won two championships and two Finals MVP awards with the Warriors, while James has won four championships and four Finals MVP awards with three different teams.
McCants said that Durant’s achievements with the Warriors are not valued because he was not the protagonist of the team.
He said that James, on the other hand, is always the protagonist of the team, and that is why he is not criticized for leaving Cleveland for Miami.
McCants concluded by saying that Durant will be considered better than James when their careers are over.
