Five long years have passed since the last duel between two of the greatest basketball players of the 21st century – LeBron James and Kevin Durant, and many things have changed since then.
It was on December 25, 2018, during one of the famous “Christmas day” NBA games when the Golden State Warriors faced the Los Angeles Lakers. At that time, it was just another in a series of matchups between the two most recent NBA Finals MVPs. The topic of conversation regarding LeBron James and Kevin Durant was nothing out of the ordinary.
The Lakers dominated the Warriors with a score of 127-101. The main stars didn’t perform as we’re accustomed to seeing them in those years. “King” finished the game with 17 points, 13 rebounds, and five assists (6-11 shooting), while “Durantula” scored 21 points with seven rebounds and assists (5-13 shooting).
LeBron played for only 21 minutes, so considering that, his statistics were actually excellent, as were Durant’s, because any player in the world, except for those two, with such stats would likely have a career-best performance. They were simply so good that it was considered standard for them.
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At that time, no one could have anticipated that it would be their last meeting in the next five seasons. Injuries and playing in different conferences contributed to that. Looking at it from this perspective, basketball was at a significant loss.
So, let’s go step by step. The last time Durant and James faced each other in the NBA, Nikola Jokic and Giannis Antetokounmpo had not yet won an MVP award, and they hadn’t held an NBA championship trophy. Blake Griffin and Kemba Walker were All-Stars, but they are no longer in the league. Ben Simmons was an All-Star, and the Phoenix Suns were at the bottom of the Western Conference.
James Harden also had one of the best individual seasons in history – averaging 36 points, seven rebounds, and eight assists, making him the “first beard of the NBA” five years ago.
Durant broke another “unfortunate” streak at the beginning of this season. He had not played against the Golden State Warriors in San Francisco since joining the Brooklyn Nets in 2019. So, it was a full four years since that injury in the NBA Finals against the Toronto Raptors.
However, at the start of this season, he didn’t return to the arena where he won two championships and two NBA Finals MVPs because in the meantime, the Golden State Warriors had replaced the old Oakland Center with the new Chase Center.
It was worth the wait for their new showdown. The Los Angeles Lakers and the Phoenix Suns delivered a fantastic game in which LeBron James and Kevin Durant, two basketball giants, led the charge. In the end, victory went to the “King,” but it’s clear that we will eagerly anticipate each new matchup between these two basketball legends.