(Photo by Megan Briggs/Getty Images)
Shane Battier spent 13 years in the NBA and he went toe-to-toe with a ton of stars during that time.
When sitting down on the “Knuckleheads” podcast, Battier opened up about his career and the toughest opponents he faced off against.
Battier said that the three hardest players to guard were Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, and Kevin Durant, according to a video shared on Twitter.
Battier also said that he feels James didn’t have a strong shot before he moved to the Miami Heat.
Shane Battier talks about the 3 toughest opponents to guard.
1. Kobe
2. LeBron
3. KD
candidly speaks on how LeBron had no jumpshot pre miami.
#MambaMentality pic.twitter.com/wq7WK1lb0N
— Brandon (@clickthatfollow) November 13, 2023
The two-time NBA champion played with James during their time together with the Heat and said that James relied mostly on just muscling his way through opponents at the start of his career.
He was nearly impossible to stop when he was moving with speed, according to Battier.
Later, James started to develop a better jump shot and eventually became the fierce point-maker that he is today.
According to Battier, James learned and enhanced those skills during his tenure with the Heat.
Battier is clearly a huge fan of his former teammate and called James “the greatest transition player of all time.”
Of course, he’s not the only one who holds James in such high esteem.
Battier also added that Bryant was unguardable because of his mentality that put him at a level above everyone else.
As for Durant, he said that getting in the way of his shots seemed impossible.
This is a problem that current players in the NBA still have because Durant is able to sink shots from anywhere, no matter who is blocking him.
Even with the comments about his early shot-making abilities, James is definitely happy to make Battier’s list.
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