Durant admires Kobe's style of 'controlled recklessness'

In a video tribute by Nike to Kobe Bryant, Oklahoma City Thunder star Kevin Durant referred to "The Black Mamba" as an "asshole," and that he'd always piss him off whenever they faced off on the hardwood.

Those comments didn't come from a place of animosity or resentment, though. On the contrary, Durant has a profound respect for the Los Angeles Lakers icon, stemming from his ability to make the most difficult plays seem so effortless.

"The intensity he played with and how he played, it was always controlled recklessness," Durant said Monday. "The fact that he hit big shots, the fact that he made tough shots, the fact that he made things that looked tough seem easy, that was frustrating. That's always frustrating for a player. It wasn't like I don't like Kobe."

It's that competitive spirit which the four-time scoring champion hopes to mirror in his own game, and one he's always admired Bryant for maintaining throughout his legendary career.

"The way he played, it made it seem like it was tough," Durant said. "For him, it was pretty easy. As a player, that's what you wanted to be and that's what you wanted to do. Definitely a role model for me, myself, and all my other teammates and how he approached the game. It was on another level."

Bryant will have suited up for 1,346 regular-season games and 220 playoff outings when it's all said and done. He's battled through his fair share of injuries over the past few years, but, even in the face of tremendous adversity, the 18-time All-Star has kept the fire within him to bounce back and continuously put his best foot forward.

Father Time will always be undefeated, though, and Bryant is no exception to that rule. Nonetheless, Durant feels as though Bryant's broad offensive repertoire has allowed him to stay in the league as long as he has, with a longevity any player should hope to emulate.

"I'm in my ninth year and after games sometimes, I'm hurting a little bit. For him to do that for 20 years at a high level, that shows how much he works," Durant said. "Once you become efficient and developed that in between game, that's what helped him last for so long. He mastered every level of the game from paint shots to mid-range (jumpers) and threes. That made him be a player that is able to play 20 years in this league. That's the example he set. All players will love to play at that level for so long."

The Oklahoma City Thunder will host the Lakers on Monday evening at Chesapeake Energy Arena. It will be Durant's last chance to face off with one of his fiercest adversaries, as well as Bryant's penultimate game on the NBA stage.