After the days of Larry Bird, the two greatest small forwards ever have been LeBron James and Kevin Durant. Winning a combined 6 NBA titles, 6 Finals MVPs, and 5 MVP awards, James and Durant are two of the most talented basketball players of their era. The King has been the face of the NBA without a doubt, but perhaps his greatest rival has been Kevin Durant. LeBron entered the NBA with the weight of the world on his shoulders and somehow exceeded expectations with the way he competed and dominated the NBA court year after year. Amazingly, he is still going strong as he enters his 20th NBA season.
- Regular Season
- NBA Playoffs
- LeBron James Might Be The Most Dominant Regular Season Performer Ever, While Kevin Durant Might Have Formed The Scariest Team In Postseason History
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Kevin Durant, the closest to LeBron James in terms of talent and accolades, has also exceeded expectations because we did not see 4 scoring titles and such elite efficiency coming even when he was a superstar at the University of Texas. The Slim Reaper has a career average of 27.2 PPG on 49.6% FG, 38.4% 3-PT FG, and 88.4% FT. His ability to score from anywhere on the court and even pull up from 30 feet is truly incredible because at 6’10”, he is simply unstoppable. The former No. 2 overall pick also won an MVP award, 2 NBA titles, and 2 Finals MVPs.
But which one of the stars has come out on top in head-to-head battles? The first matchup that comes to mind is the 2012 NBA Finals, when the Miami Heat and Oklahoma City Thunder went to battle. LeBron defeated Durant in the 2012 NBA Finals, giving The King his first championship. It wasn’t until Durant joined forces with Golden State that he took his revenge on James, defeating the Cavaliers star for two straight years. Besides their Finals appearances against each other, James and Durant have always competed at a high level when competing on the court. It is time to delve deeper into head-to-head matchups between James and Durant to get an indication of which star player ultimately has the advantage in overall meetings in both the regular season and the playoffs.
Now, before we go into the details, we have one interesting piece of information. The last time that LeBron James and Kevin Durant played against each other was 4 years ago, December 25, 2018, when the Los Angeles Lakers played against the Golden State Warriors at Oracle Arena. That means we didn’t see LeBron James against Kevin Durant for almost 4 years.
After the Christmas game in 2018, LeBron James missed 3 games against the Warriors during that season. Then, Kevin Durant missed the entire 2019-20 season because of an injury.
Now, this is like the movie ‘Catch Me If You Can’, but somehow LeBron James and Kevin Durant didn’t play against each other in the 2020-21 and 2020-22 NBA seasons.
In 2020-21, Brooklyn Nets and Lakers played two times. LeBron played in the first game but missed the second. Kevin Durant didn’t play the first game but was there in the second game.
In 2021-22, LeBron James played both games against the Brooklyn Nets, but Kevin Durant wasn’t there. It’s unbelievable that we didn’t see the two best players in the last 10 years playing against each other for almost 4 years.
The next opportunity is November 14th, when the Los Angeles Lakers host the Brooklyn Nets. If any of the two superstars miss the game, the last opportunity for this season will be January 31, 2023.
While many fans wanted to watch the Lakers and Nets in the 2022 NBA Finals, both teams were disappointed. This year they will have another chance, and if they don’t use it, we will probably never see LeBron James and Kevin Durant against each other in the NBA Finals.
Let’s see LeBron James vs. Kevin Durant’s head-to-head comparison.
Regular Season
LeBron James vs. Kevin Durant 15-6
LeBron James Stats: 28.0 PPG, 7.3 RPG, 6.5 APG, 2.0 SPG, 0.9 BPG, 51.4% FG, 35.6% 3-PT FG, 73.1% FT
Kevin Durant Stats: 28.5 PPG, 6.7 RPG, 4.0 APG, 1.4 SPG, 1.2 BPG, 48.2% FG, 41.0% 3-PT FG, 87.6% FT
In regular-season matchups, LeBron James has normally had the last laugh. The King won 15 out of the 21 meetings in which he faced Kevin Durant. Amazingly, in which none of them came when LeBron was on the Lakers against the Brooklyn Nets. LeBron and Kevin have similar numbers on the offensive end, although James has a slightly more impressive field-goal percentage. Still, Durant shoots the ball much better from three and from the free-throw line. That will always be the case because LeBron is not a naturally gifted shooter, while Durant was born with a gift to release the ball from his hands.
LeBron and Durant are also very solid all-around players, although few players in NBA history compare to The King in that regard. LeBron has his customary averages of 7.3 RPG and 6.5 APG to go along with 2.0 SPG and almost 1.0 BPG. James has always been the best player on his team, whether he played on the Cleveland Cavaliers, Miami Heat, or Los Angeles Lakers, he has been required to do a lot on the floor. Durant also has very solid all-around numbers when going up against LeBron, and there isn’t too much to differentiate between them.
But in the end, holding a 15-6 record is a massive advantage, and LeBron has the edge in the wins category. There might have never been a more consistent regular-season performer than LeBron because The King always seems to have winning records against the best players in the NBA. Thanks to his slightly more efficient field-goal percentage and excellent all-around ability, The King has the edge over Kevin Durant in regular-season matchups, and his 15-6 record speaks for itself.
NBA Playoffs
LeBron James vs. Kevin Durant: 5-9
LeBron James Stats: 31.9 PPG, 10.4 RPG, 9.1 APG, 1.4 SPG, 0.8 BPG, 52.2% FG, 32.3% 3-PT FG, 77.7% FT
Kevin Durant Stats: 31.7 PPG, 8.1 RPG, 4.9 APG, 1.1 SPG, 1.6 BPG, 54.5% FG, 43.0% 3-PT FG, 90.9% FT
To many NBA players, fans, and media members, the NBA playoffs are the most important part of a professional basketball season. After all, the postseason is where names are made. LeBron seems to have wiped the floor with Durant’s teams in the regular season, but this simply isn’t the case in the postseason because he has only won 5 out of 14 meetings against The Slim Reaper. LeBron’s numbers are impressive, as usual, because he almost averaged a triple-double in all meetings while also shooting over 52% from the field.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_lifTifQKlk
James faced Durant in the 2012 Finals, 2017 Finals, and 2018 Finals across all meetings in the playoffs. Of course, James got the first laugh in 2012, but Durant’s Golden State Warriors took care of business against LeBron’s Cavaliers in 2017 and 2018.
Amazingly, Kevin Durant has an advantage in postseason matchups against The King, LeBron James. Durant once again puts up incredible scoring numbers, but his efficiency is off the charts. Against LeBron in the playoffs, Durant is shooting 50-40-90 percentages while putting up close to 32 PPG. He is also chipping in 8 RPG and almost 5 APG while holding a very solid 9-5 record over The King.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NVwlpZwE2mM
Durant clearly benefited from playing alongside other top stars, including Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green, and with the deck stacked in his favor, he has managed to have an impressive record over The King in postseason encounters.
LeBron James Might Be The Most Dominant Regular Season Performer Ever, While Kevin Durant Might Have Formed The Scariest Team In Postseason History
As mentioned, the two most outstanding small forwards since Larry Bird have been LeBron James and Kevin Durant. The King has won 4 NBA titles, 4 Finals MVPs, and 4 MVP awards to go along with an incredible record of having 18 All-Star appearances and 18 All-NBA selections. Meanwhile, Durant has 4 scoring titles to go along with 2 championships, 2 Finals MVPs, and an MVP award as a member of the Oklahoma City Thunder. Anytime the two players met, we were blessed to witness incredible performances.
In terms of regular season dominance, it is hard to think of anyone better than LeBron James. Wilt Chamberlain comes to mind after he averaged 50.4 PPG in a single season, but he did not do it for as long as The King has. LeBron won 4 MVP awards, which are regular-season achievements, and he seems to have winning records against top stars, including Kevin Durant and even Kobe Bryant. James took care of business against Durant’s Thunder and Warriors teams by coming on top with an impressive 15-9 record. LeBron has also outplayed Durant in terms of all-around impact and field-goal percentage, which ultimately played a role in The King’s victories. Quite frankly, LeBron might be the best regular season player of all time.
Meanwhile, Durant got the last laugh in postseason appearances. His decision to join the Golden State Warriors in 2016 shocked the world because we had not seen a top-3 player in the game join forces with a team that had already won a championship in free agency. But by doing so, Durant stacked the deck in his favor and had arguably the scariest team in NBA history. A lineup that featured three of the top ten shooters of all time was impossible to defend against, and Golden State dismantled LeBron’s Cavaliers sides in 2017 and 2018. As expected, that helped Durant’s record against the King.
Overall, James has the regular season advantage over Durant because of his incredible all-around ability. In contrast, Kevin has the edge in the postseason because of his shocking decision to join Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green on the Golden State Warriors. There is little doubt that LeBron is a better all-around player than Durant, although the latter is a far better shooter and arguably a top-3 scorer of all time. These head-to-head matchup records and statistics do show a lot about how each player performs in some areas and also by the key decisions both players made in their careers.
