This isn’t your child’s game of King of the Hill.
No sir. No m’am.
This is grown man, elite athlete, basketball “King of the Hill.”
A game of one-on-one involving three players. It starts with Player 1 trying to score on Player 2. If he succeeds, Player 2 exits the floor and Player 3 takes over on defense. If Player 2 manages to prevent Player 1 from scoring, Player 1 exits and Player 2 moves to offense to try to score on Player 3. So it is, that the three players challenge each other in cycles until one of the three has scored five baskets.
This has been the post-practice routine for Team USA star athletes Kevin Durant, Paul George and James Harden, with some games taking as long as 30 minutes.
Their games have gotten the attention of one four-time NBA MVP who recently relocated to Ohio.
Hearing about that good 1 on 1 bump b/t @KDTrey5 @Paul_George24 @JHarden13 in Vegas after practice. Wish I was there for that!….
— LeBron James (@KingJames) August 1, 2014
Here is a Vine with some footage from Thursday’s “King of the Hill” game.
When the story of their post-practice games made news, George, the Indiana Pacers All-Star forward, discussed their games.
It was intense. At the end of the day, we’re out here to get better. And there’s no better guys for me to go against, for myself to guard than KD and James. And James is quick and low to the ground and KD’s got the length, so it’s good for me, offensively, as well. But at the end of the day, we’re all here to get better and work hard. And I think we took it to another level.”
The Oklahoma City Thunder All-Star and reigning MVP, Durant, seemed to agree with that sentiment in a report by ESPN reporter Brian Windhorst. “We’re just trying to challenge ourselves,” he said. “It’s fun. We try to challenge ourselves. We’re trying to get that in as much as possible. That’s how you learn instincts, that’s how to get better.”
Don’t think for a moment that James’ tweets fell on deaf ears — or blind eyes (to adjust the phrase). George not only saw the message, he responded, in kind. He offered the world’s best player a spot.
@KingJames @KDTrey5 @JHarden13 you know we got a spot for one more LB — Paul George (@Paul_George24) August 1, 2014
The offer must have been enticing enough, because it got the wheels turning.
I’m looking at my schedule like can I really fly to Vegas just for that! Them boys can flat out go!! Young kings. #StriveForGreatness — LeBron James (@KingJames) August 1, 2014
With only a couple weeks and a limited number of practices remaining before the team travels to Spain for the start of the FIBA 2014 Basketball World Cup, it will be interesting to see if James is, in fact, able to get down to Vegas for a game or two. We’ll just have to wait and see.
Previous Tweet Posts:
Tweet of the Night: Andre Drummond Learning From Kevin Durant
Tweet of the Day: Mark Cuban Grateful To Be 29
_______
Michael Brumagin writes the Tweet of the Day for SheridanHoops.com and is also a correspondent for BleacherReport.com. Follow @mbrumagin