5 Things Kevin Durant Should Learn from Legendary Kobe Bryant

Perhaps the most intriguing Round 2 matchup of the 2012 NBA Playoffs features a Western Conference battle between Kevin Durant of the Oklahoma City Thunder and Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers.

Not only is it a battle between the top two regular season scorers in the NBA, but also an intriguing matchup of two of the more talented players in the game today.

Kobe is not ready to pass the torch just yet to Durant, but Durant is ready to snatch it away from him anyway.

That is debatable, but while Durant is great at the young age of 23, there is still a great deal he can learn from the legendary Bryant.

Let's take a look at just a few areas where Durant could stand to emulate Kobe.

Don't Settle for Mediocrity

Despite Durant's prolific numbers that have seen him average 26.3 throughout his five year career, he often settles for mediocrity, where Kobe refuses to allow it.

Durant will also settle for his teammates' mediocrity when he shouldn't. At times, he even settles for shots when he has the ability for much better looks.

There are times to defer to teammates but there is also proper times to take over games.

Bryant knows when to assert himself as the alpha male. Durant is still learning.

Quit Being Nice

I love the fact that Durant is a humble professional, but sometimes he needs to play with a chip on his shoulder.

Bryant always plays like he is pissed at someone which enables him to go out and prove a point on an almost nightly basis.

Durant is more passive overall. I'm not suggesting he become cocky by any means, but adding that chip on his shoulder could pay dividends down the road.

Leadership

Like it or not, Kobe knows how to work the media to motivate his teammates. He also know what to say and when to say it.

Kobe has come a long way as a leader and Durant, while having a totally different personality, must eventually make Oklahoma City his team on and off the floor.

We've seen Kobe call out the front office in the preseason.  We have also seen him have the backs of Mike Brown, Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol throughout the year, even if he didn't necessarily want to.

As a result, the rest of the Lakers usually feed off Kobe.

The media is a useful tool in achieving leadership and is something Durant could eventually use to his favor.

Commit to Playing Defense

One thing that has made Kobe the player that he is the refusal to lose—at both ends of the floor.

Durant is not bad at the defense end and is quite good at contesting shots, but he is not a guy who Scott Brooks will ask to guard a talented player with the game on the line.

When he has the ball in his hands, Durant often cooks opposing defenders more times than not. But when the other guy has the ball, the same can happen to him.

Bryant has been named a member of the NBA's first or second All-Defensive Team 11 different times in his career. To be a complete player, Durant needs to improve a great deal on the defensive end.

Court Vision

It is almost amazing that Durant has the success he does, because he doesn't see the floor very well.

He does not get open like he should which makes things much tougher for him. Durant is also not that great of a passer and doesn't use his teammates as well as he should.

Again, he is not terrible, but he should be a guy that averages more than 2.8 assists throughout his career.  This skill goes back to knowing when to facilitate and when to take over.

Kobe is also a shoot first guy, but has averaged 4.7 assists throughout his career. Being a guard helps his cause, but there are still plenty of scoring forwards that average more than 2.8 assists per game.