Kevin Durant and Larry Bird are considered to be two of the greatest scorers in NBA history. Both players dominated the league during their respective eras with their incredible skill and ability to score. Many believe that their games are very similar, and would have thrived in each other’s respective eras.
Both Bird and Durant are 2 of only 9 players that have come close to averaging 50-40-90 for their entire career. That is just a small indicator of just how accurate the two are from each part of the court. But what would happen if Durant and Bird played against each other one-on-one?
Many fans have debated it, and now, Bleacher Report has attempted to imagine what a prime Kevin Durant (2021) vs prime Larry Bird (1986). The animated video has its funny moments, like KD confusing Bird for Michael Rappaport, or Bird delivering a hilarious line when seeing KD in a Brooklyn Nets jersey.
“Brooklyn? Well shucks, I will f*ck up an AAU team I do not care.”
The video involves them going back and forth, trading buckets. When Larry’s trash-talking starts to get under Durant’s skin, he hilariously gets his phone and starts making his trademark rebuttals on Twitter.
The score was 118-119 in Durant’s favor in the final seconds of the game. Larry tried to make a layup, but Durant blocked the shot, quipping that he can play defense if it’s absolutely necessary, before sinking a dagger three to beat Bird.
While the video is fictional, and there is no way of knowing who would win, it did portray Durant and Bird as equal to each other. The advantage that KD had over Larry was his height, which allowed him to block the shot in the game.
Perhaps if we ever got to see a battle between Durant and Bird in their prime, the story would be much different. There really is no way of knowing for sure. But this was a fun imagining of how a spectacularly entertaining bout between Kevin Durant and Larry Bird would go down.
