Durant: It's harder to stand out with great players around you

Prior to hoisting back-to-back Larry O'Brien Trophies with the Golden State Warriors, Kevin Durant put together an outstanding resume as the unquestioned top option for the Oklahoma City Thunder.

By comparison, with Golden State, his numbers are down but his efficiency is up. He's in the conversation about the league's best, but he isn't always the go-to-player on an All-Star-heavy roster, playing alongside two-time MVP Stephen Curry and sharpshooter Klay Thompson.

Given his experiences, Durant believes standing out on a star-studded team is harder than racking up stats with a weak supporting cast.

"I feel like it's easy to be the best player when you don't have good players around you. I feel like it's harder to stand out when you have great players around you," Durant said, according to Yahoo Sports' Michael Lee. "I pride myself on standing out wherever I am. I pride myself on working hard wherever I go. And I feel like these guys embraced me and I feel like I’m a Warrior."

Despite Curry's role as the heart of the franchise, Durant is the piece that turns them into an unstoppable force. It's led him to consecutive Finals MVP trophies in two series that also featured Curry and Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James.

Curry has now won three NBA championships in four seasons but hasn't been named Finals MVP - the honor went to Andre Iguodala in 2015 and Durant swooped in to take home the last two. Regardless, Durant doesn't care to focus on the individual aspect of a team accomplishment, and he believes Curry perceives it the same way.

"Obviously as the best individual players, we all want to play well and I know Steph doesn’t care about stuff like that," Durant said of his second Finals MVP win. "I really wasn't expecting to do any of this. I was just trying to win. MVPs or not, I think we both played great basketball."