LOS ANGELES – At different stages of his life, Kevin Durant viewed LeBron James through various lenses. It evolved from idol to mentor. Then it changed from an opponent to what he called “a barometer” to measure his own greatness.
“LeBron is the all-time great player and solidified himself as the top 2 player of all time,” Durant said. “Every time he steps on the court, no matter who it’s against, especially at age 40, it’s going to be talked about.”
A reporter then informed James is actually 38. He will turn 39 on Dec. 30, 2023 in the middle of his 21st NBA season. A sheepish Durant then said, “Sorry ‘Bron.” Nonetheless, Durant’s words partly captured why such a familiar matchup sparked more conversation than usual. In the Los Angeles Lakers’ 100-95 win over the Phoenix Suns on Thursday at Crypto.com Arena, James and Durant went head-to-head for the first time since 2018 on Christmas Day when the Golden State Warriors hosted the Lakers.
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After going 1,766 days without playing each other amid overlapping injuries, Durant and James performed on Thursday as if Father Time hasn’t affected them.
With Suns guards Bradley Beal (tight lower back) and Devin Booker (sore left foot) sidelined, Durant posted 39 points on a 14-for-28 clip and 11 rebounds in 40 minutes in the second game of his 16th season. Durant, who has 26,949 points, eclipsed former Houston Rockets center Hakeem Olajuwon for 12th place on the NBA’s all-time scoring list. James finished with 21 points on 7-for-14 shooting along with nine assists and eight rebounds in 33 minutes, a stark increase from the 28 minutes Lakers coach Darvin Him played him in the Lakers’ season-opening loss to Denver in hopes to preserve his workload.
At 35 years old, Durant hasn’t faced such restrictions because of his improved health and the Suns’ reliance on him without their two other star players. As shown in the Suns’ loss to the Lakers, however, Durant eventually needed more help. After an efficient third quarter (15 points on 5-for-6 shooting and from the free-throw line), Durant had nine points, while shooting only 4-for-11 overall and 1-for-4 mark from 3-point range. After committing eight turnovers overall, Durant observed, “when I caught the ball, I felt like I saw the whole team sometimes.” The rest of the Suns shot a combined 20-for-53.
“We have to do a better job making things easier for him,” Suns coach Frank Vogel said. “It is part of the challenge. You know he’s comfortable and he wants to work and give him that green light to do that. Our spacing broke down way too many times. It’s something we have worked on. We didn’t do it well enough tonight.”
It didn’t help the Suns also faced James. He scored 10 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter with three layups and a 4-for-4 mark from the free-throw line. Though the Lakers mostly want to handle him with care, James played the entire fourth quarter while Ham used three timeouts to rest him. And with the Lakers holding a 98-93 lead with seven seconds left, James leaped high in the air to deflect a pass directed toward Durant.
“It was tough. He’s pretty much coaching the team on how to guard certain actions,” Durant said. “That’s what he’s been doing his whole career. Film study is one thing. But he’s locked in as he’s gotten older as a player and won championships knowing how to watch film and dissect the film. You see that and hear that in his talk throughout the whole game. It’s always a battle playing against high IQ players like that.”
Durant first received a glimpse of James’ sharp basketball mind during his senior year of high school at Montrose Christian School. By then, Durant already consumed highlights of James’ first three NBA seasons with the Cleveland Cavaliers. While James appeared in his first NBA Finals, the former Seattle Supersonics picked Durant at No. 2 in the 2007 NBA Draft shortly following his lone season at the University of Texas. Since then, Durant credited James as “somebody you just compare yourself to.”
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“If you could accomplish and achieve some of the stuff that he’s done, then you’re doing pretty solid for yourself,” Durant said. “It’s just a baseline for a player to see how great you can be. He set that example for how great you can be. He set that example for everybody in the league.”
Their careers intertwined while also going on divergent paths. James collected four NBA championships, four Finals MVPs and four regular-season MVPs in 10 Finals appearances. Durant won two NBA titles, two Finals MVPS and one regular-season MVP in four Finals appearances.
In their first NBA Finals matchup, James helped the Miami Heat beat the Oklahoma City Thunder in five games in 2012 a year after James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh experienced growing pains in their Finals loss to the Dallas Mavericks. While the Thunder struggled with health and chemistry, the Heat and San Antonio competed for NBA titles (2013, 2014).
James returned to Cleveland and faced a new rival. After the Golden State Warriors won the 2015 NBA Finals, James helped the Cavaliers become the only team in NBA Finals history to overcome a 3-1 series deficit en route to their first championship in franchise history. That set the stage for the Warriors to sign Durant after the Thunder squandered their own 3-1 series lead to Golden State in the Western Conference Finals. Durant then helped the Warriors win two consecutive NBA titles in two Finals MVP performances. He also made two go-ahead 3s over James in the final moments of Game 3 in both the 2017 and 2018 NBA Finals.
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“We had great teams and we battled at a perfect time in the Finals,” Durant said. “That brings the best out of everybody. It’s a mutual respect there for each other’s games. That usually just brings the best out of everybody.”
Yet, Durant has downplayed the statistical and milestone comparisons because of the varying circumstances. Durant ensured a tailor-made Warriors team featuring Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and Andre Iguodala could win NBA titles. With mixed results, James used his talent and influence to pressure front offices to assemble the right talent around him in Miami, Cleveland and the Lakers. A season after Durant injured his right Achilles tendon in the 2019 NBA Finals, James helped the Lakers win their first NBA title in 10 years. Durant didn’t have the same success in Brooklyn amid overlapping injuries to himself, Kyrie Irving and James Harden. The Suns became a viable contender after acquiring him last season before the trade deadline. Following a second-round exit to Denver, the Suns acquired Beal in the offseason.
As Thursday’s matchup demonstrated, both Durant and James remain prolific both with their production and durability. Durant eclipsed Olajuwon after spending his childhood hearing about his mother’s crush on the Nigerian star. Durant fell in love with Olajuwon’s skills with his footwork, post presence and one-legged shots.
“He was ahead of his time when it comes to his skill around the rim and his athleticism and being able to guard multiple positions and guard from any angle,” Durant said of Olajuwon. “He’s somebody I still emulate and watch to this day. He’s one of those players that will always leave his mark regardless of the generation.”
Durant views James in nearly the same way.
“He’s still playing at that level,” Durant said. “It’s incredible. He’s inspiring a lot of players and a lot of young and old players to do the same thing.”
Mark Medina is an NBA insider for Sportsnaut. Follow him on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and Threads.