On Tuesday night, Kevin Durant went off against the Lakers for his first face-to-face battle against LeBron James since 2018. Both stars showed out in the highly anticipated affair, and Durant took a minute after the final buzzer to shower his friend, and longtime colleague, with some high-level praise.
“It’s always dope being on the floor with one of the best to ever do it, top five best to ever do it,” Durant said, via The Arizona Republic. “It brings the best out of everybody in the arena, the fans, the workers, the players, the coaches. So, it’s always an honor no matter what the capacity is. It could be a pickup game. We bring the best out of everybody.”
Durant, who turned 35 this September, is in the final stage of his career now, just like LeBron currently is in year 21. For both NBA superstars, this could be one of the last times we see them start the season together and Durant isn’t taking that for granted.
“It’s an honor,” said Kevin. “I know we both getting up there. It might be towards the end of this little back and forth, but it’s always good to get some moments on the floor with him.”
A 20-Year Rivalry
Durant and LeBron share tremendous respect for each other, but they’ve had several hardcore battles over the years. Going back to 2007, Durant was picked 2nd overall and it would reflect a common theme throughout his career. As LeBron James claimed the top spot for pretty much the entirety of his career, Durant was always the second guy, falling behind James in almost every way.
Things came to a head in their first Finals series in 2012, when LeBron and the Heat sent Durant and his young Thunder team home in tears. Five years later, they’d meet again in the playoffs when Durant and the Warriors took down LeBron’s Cavs in an easy victory. Today, while Durant has technically won more head-to-head playoff battles, LeBron is still considered the GOAT as a 4x champion, 4x MVP, and 19x All-Star. Compare that to Durant’s accolades, and it’s clear why he still falls short of matching the King.
Kevin Durant Wants To Win At All Costs
Time is running out for Durant to add to his trophy case, but he’s still got a chance to pull off something special this season. In his first eight games for the Suns last year, we saw Durant adjust his game with seamless effort and it made them nearly unbeatable down the stretch. In the postseason, however, the Suns got exposed due to a lack of chemistry and depth around the core players.
Suns owner Mat Ishbia addressed his team’s flaws over the summer by trading for Bradley Beal and filling out the bench with mid-level role-players of various talents. Additions include Jusuf Nurkic, Yuta Watanabe, and Eric Gordon among others. Needless to say, the SUns are all out of excuses this year and Durant knows what’s at stake if they fail to deliver.
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