Durant developing a thirst for first crown

KEVIN Durant’s first trip to the NBA Finals ended with him watching LeBron James celebrate his first title as Miami downed Oklahoma City for the 2012 crown.

Now five years later and with two different clubs, both superstars are back in the finals, Durant still seeking his first title and James again blocking the path.

Durant and the Golden State Warriors will be favoured to dethrone the James-led Cleveland Cavaliers when the best-of-seven championship series starts tomorrow morning at Oakland, California.

Instead of James having drawn criticism for jilting Cleveland for Miami in order to become a champion, this season it was Durant who aroused the ire of many fans by ditching fellow star Russell Westbrook and Oklahoma City for the superteam spotlight of the Warriors.

And just as a move paid championship dividends for James after a previous finals loss, it could do the same in June for Durant.

“It’s a little different, definitely. I can’t lie,” Durant said of his latest trip to the finals compared to his first.

“I went when I was 23 years old and it felt like the Western Conference Finals was almost like the championship.

“So it’s a little different now, obviously. But you’ve got to enjoy everything, man.

“When we look at it, this is just a blip on the radar in terms of our whole life. So every mo- ment is definitely important and you want to embrace it.”

Just as James struggled in building chemistry in Miami with “Big Three” teammates Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, Durant and his new Golden State teammates had to make adjustments to maximise the contributions of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green.

“Our chemistry is getting better and better,” Durant said.

“We’re going to need it even more now.”