It’s no secret that Kevin Durant is one of the most prolific scorers in all of basketball. Fans know it, coaches game-planning against him know it, and opposing players know it as well.
Recently, Miami Heat’s P.J Tucker, who has a competitive history with KD, sat down with newly retired J.J Redick on his podcast, The Old Man & the Three, and was asked to peel back the layers on what it’s like to have to defend some of the best players and shot-makers the game has seen, especially Durant.
When asked if he ever gets discouraged, Tucker responded, “No. Because it’s like ‘okay, aw man, that was incredible, you made that. Now do it again. Now do it again.’ Because I’m not gonna stop… We got face-to-face. I’m not going anywhere. Tricking myself because he’s killing me. He’s got 50. He’s gonna score 50. But how many shots is he gonna take? How hard is he gonna [work]? I’m gonna work him.”
“I’m telling you,” Tucker said with full conviction, “You have to trick yourself.”
Elsa/Getty Images
It’s a fascinating but fitting mindset to have when tasked with guarding a near 7ft tall NBA MVP, 4x scoring champion and 2x Finals MVP that is a threat to score the basketball as soon as he crosses half court. P.J Tucker has made a living off of contesting and containing some of the greatest to ever play in the NBA, but by no stretch does that mean it’s been easy.
Check out Tucker’s full response on J.J Redick’s The Old Man & the Three, below: