Kevin Durant and LeBron James were supposed to have the defining rivalry of their generation, though the arrival of Stephen Curry ended up switching the rivalry to James and Curry. Durant had lost enough times to both and joined up with Curry so that their united force could overcome James, which they did. But Durant on his own can’t say he’s had many wins over LeBron without Curry by his side.
James and Durant have faced each other 38 times in their careers. Their first 21 encounters saw Durant pick up just four wins, though one came in the 2012 NBA Finals. After Durant joined the Warriors and made the greatest team assembled, LeBron and his rosters stood no chance. Durant won 11 out of their 14 games as a Warriors, with eight wins coming to clinch two titles. After a five-year gap in matches, James and Durant have met thrice this season, all games that LeBron has clinched.
This does show a pattern that Durant can’t get the job done on his own and has historically needed a superteam like the Warriors to beat LeBron. To be frank, even Curry has a losing record against LeBron when it comes to playoff matchups without Durant, so it’s clear both needed each other.
Kevin Durant’s career record vs. LeBron James by team:
OKC Thunder: 4-17 (1-4 in playoffs)
Golden State Warriors: 11-3 (8-1 in playoffs)
Brooklyn Nets: 0-0
Phoenix Suns: 0-3
Durant averages 29.4 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 4.0 assists against James in the regular season, while James averages 28.0 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 6.8 assists.
Even though Durant won two Finals MVPs over James, while LeBron could only clinch one, their Playoff stats show that James has been the better individual player. James has averaged 31.9 points, 10.4 rebounds, and 9.1 assists in playoff matchups, while Durant averages 31.7 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 4.9 assists.
James’ numbers are inflated because he faced Durant in consecutive Finals series, where he was the only one capable of carrying his team to a win. Comparing their Finals stats is fascinating, given the different situations both players have been in.
Kevin Durant Did Everything He Could To Beat LeBron
Many players in the modern NBA look at LeBron and wonder why they could never beat him. Jeff Teague did a whole podcast segment discussing never being able to beat playoff LeBron. It is not easy now and was almost impossible to do in his prime. Durant met James at the peak of his powers in 2012 and didn’t stand a chance, though the Thunder somehow went into that Finals as the odds-on-favorite.
LeBron was having a hard enough time beating the Warriors when they had Harrison Barnes, so it became almost impossible after they added Kevin Durant. The guaranteed Finals matchup happened for two seasons with Durant on the roster, leading to eight playoff wins for KD while only one for LeBron. The two regular season wins for LeBron were both Christmas Games, one in 2017 and another in 2018 when LeBron was on the Lakers.
We didn’t see them tangle in a game for five years due to untimely injuries to both, but we’ve already seen three clashes this season. Both players have been amazing in these encounters, but LeBron’s LA somehow manages to pull through. They’ll face each other twice more this season, so it’ll be interesting to see if Durant can break this narrative.
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