LeBron is the player everyone measures themselves against. “After my games a lot, my whole career you see what he did, watch the highlights,” Durant said. “When I was in high school we got close when I was a senior in high school and he was third or fourth year in the league and he was dominating and somebody that inspired me as I was coming into college, into the league to want to play at that level.

“Somebody you just compare yourself to and if you can accomplish and achieve some of the stuff that he’s done that means you’re doing pretty solid for yourself. He’s just a baseline for you as a player to see how great you can be. He set that example for everybody in the league.”

Durant was reminded of LeBron’s savant-level basketball IQ and how difficult it is to deal with.

“It was tough,” Durant added. “He was pretty much coaching the team on how to guard certain actions and that’s what he’s been doing his whole career. Film study is one of the things that he’s locked in on as he’s gotten older as a player.

“As he’s won championships he’s learned how to watch film and dissect the film and you can just see that and hear that in his talk throughout the whole game. It’s always a battle playing against high IQ players like that.”

Windhorst: Lakers Wouldn’t Trade Anthony Davis for Kevin Durant amid NBA Rumors

The hypothetical pairing of LeBron James and Kevin Durant on the Los Angeles Lakers is going to remain just that, according to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst.

On Get Up, Windhorst addressed the idea floated by colleague Stephen A. Smith that the Lakers would’ve been the “perfect place” for Durant. Windhorst bluntly responded that there’s “not really” a path for the 14-time All-Star to wind up in L.A. He added that a swap involving Durant and Anthony Davis, which is basically the only formula that works financially, is a nonstarter.

For a Durant trade to materialize, he probably needs to be the one to make the first step and that presents what’s arguably the biggest hurdle in a move to the Lakers.

Maybe there was a time when Durant suiting up for the Lakers or aligning with LeBron was possible. That ship has in all likelihood sailed by now.