Kevin Durant includes Rockets’ James Harden in favorites to watch

Two-time NBA Finals MVP Kevin Durant appeared on ESPN’s First Take on Thursday and included Houston Rockets’ star James Harden in his favorite players to watch.

While out with an Achilles injury, Kevin Durant has been making the rounds in the media, giving his opinions regarding the offseason, the current NBA landscape and the current NBA season. On First Take, the 10-time NBA All-Star included Houston Rockets superstar James Harden in his list of players he enjoys watching at the moment.

While James Harden has revolutionized one-on-one basketball and made teams invent new ways to guard him, Kevin Durant is no stranger to revolutionizing basketball himself. At 6-feet-10, KD was at the forefront of big forwards playing like guards on the court, being able to take the ball inside and play big while also lighting it up from outside.

Harden and Durant last played together in 2012, when they made the NBA Finals before ultimately falling to the Miami Heat in five games. Since then, The Beard has flourished in Houston, winning MVP two seasons ago, while Durant has enjoyed two titles with the Golden State Warriors. While he hasn’t played with Harden since their run to the finals, KD still gave him some love when asked about his favorite players to watch:

Kevin Durant's five players he enjoys watching right now:@KyrieIrving@KingJames@JHarden13@JoelEmbiid@Dame_Lillard pic.twitter.com/6SHtoMwtKn

— First Take (@FirstTake) October 31, 2019

While he didn’t exactly state his top five current players as Stephen A. Smith asked, to be included in a list of favorites from such a prolific scorer as Durant is high praise. KD also listed new teammate Kyrie Irving on his list, along with LeBron James, Joel Embiid and Damian Lillard. Noticeably missing from his top five was his other former teammate, Russell Westbrook, however, Durant did state there were many more he couldn’t think of on the spot.

Perhaps James Harden’s recent offensive explosion of 59 points was still on Durant’s mind, as he catapulted himself back to the top of the league in points per game with the performance (36.8). Both also have the same ability to make offensive basketball look incredibly easy, as Kevin has led the league in scoring four separate times while James is halfway to that mark with two.

It’s not a surprise to see Harden being recognized by a former teammate with a similar talent for scoring the ball, but nonetheless, it’s a great compliment for Houston’s superstar.