Real Hoopers™ know.
Real Hoopers know that stats can't measure heart. That you need elite handle to handle your business and that efficiency is just a made-up word to protect the feelings of weak, soulless shooters who hide behind the 3-point line. They know that buckets win games and bucket-getters make the world go round.
And, according to former NBA player Rashad McCants, "Real Hoopers know that Kevin Durant is gonna go down as a better basketball player than LeBron at the end of the road."
McCants shared this nugget of Real Hooper knowledge on Gilbert Arenas' podcast this week, letting us schlubs and stat nerds know how the basketball world really works.
McCants explained, even though the Real Hoopers clearly didn't need any explanation, that Kevin Durant gets less attention and marketing than Steph Curry and LeBron James, and that the media intentionally buried his legacy when he left for the Golden State Warriors.
Uh ... what?
If you're a Real Hooper you're probably nodding along with McCants and Arenas throughout the clip above. If, like me, you're not a Real Hooper you probably need some translation.
Like I said, I'm on the outside looking in but I think what they're saying is that the media likes when stars stay with their original team instead of switching teams to chase titles. The media HATES having to spin off thousands of stories and television segments about trade rumors and free agency landing spots that are then read and watched by hundreds of millions of people. The media also hates having players in small markets like Oklahoma City and they never forgave Durant for not getting drafted by the Boston Celtics and then not stopping the SuperSonics from moving to the middle of nowhere.
They didn't address it directly in the clip above but it's obviously implied that the media is the reason LeBron has four championships to Durant's two, and four MVPs to Durant's one, that LeBron has been healthy enough to play 119 more games and nearly 4000 more minutes since Durant entered the NBA. And if you dig deep enough you'll see that the media is the reason LeBron has more points, rebounds, assists, steals since Durant entered the league and a 22-15 record against Durant in head-to-head matchups.
But Real Hoopers don't draw their basketball knowledge from the media, they're immune to all that propaganda. Real Hoopers know LeBron will finish his career looking up at Kevin Durant.
