Warriors star Kevin Durant made an early prediction in this NBA season, tipping his hat to Pelicans forward Anthony Davis, who he believes will lead the NBA in scoring this year.
Durant made the prediction after the three-time All-Star opened his season with a memorable 50 points — plus six rebounds, seven steals, five assists and four blocks — in the Pelicans' season-opening loss to the Nuggets.
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Speaking before Friday's matchup between the two teams, Durant — who has topped the league's scoring on four occasions — heaped praise on the 23-year-old.
"(Davis is) probably going to lead the league in scoring this year easily ... 50 for him is a good game, and now (he’s like) move it to the next one," Durant told reporters. "It's kind of a customary night for him.
"It's hard to defend him. You can't. His first step is probably the quickest I've seen in a while at his position. He's long, he can shoot it, he can dribble it, he can shoot the three — so he's doing just about everything out there on the court."
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Durant's Warriors teammate Stephen Curry, who was last season's scoring leader, added: "Nobody likes getting 50 dropped on them, whether you win or you lose.
"Even though you obviously want to win, you don't want to overreact to him making tough shots. If you give up a bunch of transition layups, alley-oops, uncontested shots, then you have issues because that builds confidence. But that other stuff you can live with, with a guy that talented."