Ex-Warrior Bernard King just fine being passed on scoring list by Kevin Durant

OAKLAND - The playful and dismissive tone in Bernard King’s voice could be heard clearly through the phone. Warriors forward Kevin Durant had just eclipsed King for 45th place on the NBA’s all-time scoring list, and the former Warriors small forward did not sound resentful one bit.

“Do you really think that’s a surprise?” King said. “We’re talking about Kevin Durant.”

After all, King recalled arguing in 2007 as an NBA TV analyst that there should be no debate on if Durant or Greg Oden should be the No. 2 pick. While the Portland Trail Blazers believed otherwise, the former Seattle Sonics happily selected Durant. He has since landed eight NBA All-Star appearances, five NBA All-First team honors and a regular-season MVP award. Since leaving the Thunder for the Warriors in the 2016 offseason, Durant added an NBA championship and Finals MVP to his resume. And with Durant averaging 25.6 points on efficient numbers from the field (51.9 percent), from 3-point range (39.8 percent) and the free-throw line (87 percent) in his 10th NBA season, Durant has 19,684 career points and counting.

Those skills partly explain why Durant reminds King of former San Antonio Spurs guard George Gervin, who King considered “unstoppable.”

“You could not defend him,” said King, who posted 19,655 career points through a 14-year NBA career, including two seasons with the Warriors (1980-82). “It was impossible to deny him the ball. He would catch the ball on his spots of where he wanted to be on the floor. Then with his style of shooting at 6-foot-7 and at a guard position, he had a height advantage over anyone defending him other than Magic Johnson. There was no way you could get to his shot. He had that beautiful finger roll from the middle of the lane. There was no other player that had that capability to shoot the ball that he did and release it. On top of that, he had his height, leaping and ability to get into the lane with finesse.”

As for Durant?

“Kevin Durant extended his style of play to the 3-point line,” said King, who has released a book titled “Game Face: A Lifetime of Hard-Earned Lessons On and Off the Basketball Court.” “He’s 6’10, but he plays like a guard and shoots like a point guard and plays like a big man around the basket as well. He’s a great basketball player. I love watching him play as well as the Warriors.”

Durant has mutual feelings about King, who made four NBA All-Star appearances partly because of his evolving scoring ability as both a bruising post player and versatile shooter. King averaged 22.5 points on 51.8 percent shooting through stops in New Jersey (1977-1980, 1992-93), Golden State (1980-1982), New York (1982-87) and Washington (1987-91).

“I knew he could shoot the one-dribble pullup pretty well,” Durant said of King. “I knew he was a professional scorer. I watched clips and tape of some of his moves to try to emulate. It’s all about the skill and it’s all about the work ethic. I can tell he put a lot of work into his career. To pass a legend like that in scoring, it’s something that I enjoy doing. It’s the reason why I started playing basketball. It’s an amazing accomplishment. I just want to continue to honor the legends as I make my way up.”

To do that, Durant said he has tried to get “one percent better every day.” He also said he’s “been taught to learn the game since I was eight” years old. Those around the Warriors as well as NBA talent evaluators often have gushed about Durant adding more versatility to his scoring with his extended range, post presence and exceptional footwork. It marks a similar skillset that King used to improve each offseason.

“Each year, he comes back with a new move,” King said of Durant. “My entire career was predicated on that, coming back with a new move every single year. Teams start to figure you out. So you always have to make your game expansive. So what he’s done, he’s out and putting in the work to become a better player each and every season. It’s obvious, based on the way he played the game.”

And based on the way Durant has played the game, King expects the Warriors’ star will shatter more records.

“He’s going to have one of the most remarkable careers that has ever played this game of basketball,” King said. “When you ask about my record being broken, come on. It’s Kevin Durant.”