LeBron James hilariously praises Kevin Durant

Count LeBron James as one of the millions of Kevin Durant fans in the world. After the Golden State Warriors beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 110-102 behind an epic performance by Durant, James was more than complimentary towards his fellow superstar.

At Thursday’s practice, James was asked about the 2012 NBA Finals, when his Miami Heat beat Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder. Durant was only 23 at the time, and the question was whether James saw KD’s full potential at the time.

James, always good for an excellent quote and some key timing, had a hilariously perfect response:

After pointing out that he had known Durant was great for a long time, James dropped the hammer, saying, “You knew that he was built for greatness from the time that he was drafted. I mean, everybody knew that besides Portland, I guess.”

While the media room cracked up, James smiled and said, “Sorry Portland, sorry.”

The jab was a reference to the 2007 NBA Draft, when the Portland Trail Blazers held the first overall pick. With the general consensus being that Durant and Greg Oden were the top prospects, the Blazers opted for Oden, and let the Seattle SuperSonics select Durant.

The timing of the joke couldn’t have been better, since Blazers’ guard C.J. McCollum spent much of Wednesday night on Twitter criticizing Durant for signing with the Warriors.

So naturally, Golden State fans were ready to laugh at Portland’s expense.