The Superteam That Would Beat Kevin Durant’s All-Time Team In A 7-Game Series

Over the past 15 seasons in the NBA, Kevin Durant has become one of the best scorers and polarizing figures in the game’s history. Some would say he is a 7-foot demi-God who handles the ball like a point guard and shoots the ball lights out from everywhere on the floor. Others will roast him for his unceremonious move to the Golden State in the summer of 2016. Love him or loathe him, Kevin Durant is one of the best basketball players of the last 20 years. He also happens to be well-versed in the history of the game, as we will show you today.

When Kevin Durant was asked to name his all-time starting lineup, he replied with a nearly unbeatable squad. He named Michael Jordan, LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, himself, and Hakeem Olajuwon. This team has everything you need, plus 5 of the greatest players to ever play the game of basketball at the NBA level. It will be a tall order for Fadeaway World to come up with a squad worthy of beating Durant’s team, but we think we have it covered. It is time to pit 10 NBA legends against each other and see who will come out on top as the ultimate superteam.

Fadeaway World Team: Stephen Curry, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Tim Duncan, Shaquille O’Neal

Kevin Durant’s All-Time Team: LeBron James, Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant, Hakeem Olajuwon

Now it’s time to see which one of these teams will come out on top in a 7-game series as we break down the matchups and each team’s advantages.

Stephen Curry vs. LeBron James

Stephen Curry has a tall task ahead of him with his matchup against LeBron James, literally. James is about 5 inches taller and outweighs Curry by nearly 80 pounds, so this matchup will be all about finesse. Curry’s best weapon is his shooting and off-ball movement to create those deadly shots. Curry will be in constant motion against LeBron and most certainly using screens to get open. If we know anything about Curry, it is that his range is unlimited, and his shot is purely automatic when he gets on a roll which is exactly what Team Fadeaway Worl will need to be successful.

LeBron James holds a distinct advantage in this matchup. There will most certainly be some switch for the defense, particularly when James tries to get to the paint. The pressure for James to score is off of him, considering the number of pure scorers he has around him in Jordan, Kobe, and Durant. James as a playmaker, will shine with virtually no disturbance from Curry on defense. LeBron can attack at will as a scorer and set up his teammates at will as a facilitator, making this our first big mismatch of the matchup.

Magic Johnson vs. Michael Jordan

In a rematch of the 1991 NBA Finals, we get Magic Johnson vs. Michael Jordan as the second matchup of this series. Magic Johnson will be Team Fadeaway World’s primary playmaker, and with more than enough options to work with, he will be a dangerous one. Johnson will want to push the pace as he always did during his career and utilize his team to the fullest. His much larger frame on Jordan on defense will be a slight advantage, but no one is going to actually slow down MJ. Magic will make Team Fadeaway super dangerous on the open court, which is an advantage they will need to beat Kevin Durant’s team.

As for Jordan, he will just have to be typical Michael Jordan. The spacing on Team Durant gives Jordan more spacing than he possibly ever saw in his career with 3 other guys who can knock down open shots. With a playmaker like LeBron on his side, Jordan will get many opportunities to dominate the mid-range game and the space he needs to get to the rim like he always loved to do. Jordan will no doubt be Team Durant’s No. 1 scoring option, and rightfully so. Team Fadeaway will have their work cut out for them trying to slow down the G.O.A.T.

Larry Bird vs. Kobe Bryant

Now, this is a matchup we all wish we could have seen in real life. Larry Bird’s game is just as legendary as his trash-talking, and going up against Kobe, there will be an overabundance of it. Bird will have his hands full with the athletic Bryant, but as long as he keeps him on the perimeter, Team Fadeaway World can live with it. Bird is a pure shooter who can knock down any shot he creates for himself from anywhere on the floor. He also gives Team Fadeaway World another option as a playmaker and passer to work with their 2 bigs. Bird will fight for rebounds and get physical with Bryant to try and throw him off of his game.

Kobe Bryant will not settle for shots that aren’t falling, so his primary purpose is to remain in attack mode. No one rivaled Kobe’s work ethic in his prime aside from his teammate, Michael Jordan. This will be critical to Kobe’s success in this matchup because it will be tough, physical, and mentally taxing on anyone lined up across from Larry Bird. Kobe will attack the basket much like he did in his prime, but this time with way more options to go to should he not have a way to get his shot off. Aggression is the key for Kobe in this matchup, but buckets will not come easy.

Tim Duncan vs. Kevin Durant

In a matchup of 2 power forwards who play the position completely different from each other, we have Tim Duncan vs. Kevin Durant. Tim Duncan holds a major advantage in this matchup, especially if it gets to the paint. Duncan is considerably bigger than Durant, giving him the easy street to success in the low post. With his back to the basket, Duncan can dominate Durant and get off as many shots as he can be afforded by his teammates. If Hakeem comes to help on a double, Duncan has plenty of options to go to, including Shaq on the weak side for an easy finish. The easiness of this situation changes on the other side of the court, though.

With the obvious mismatch in the post, Kevin Durant will have to utilize his strengths to get the upper hand on Tim Duncan on offense. There is almost no chance that DUrant will be able to do anything to Duncan in the post. This is where Durant will bring the game to the perimeter. Durant will have a pretty easy time shooting over Duncan from the outside with his slender 7-foot frame and sweet shooting stroke. Medium-range shots and 3-pointers will certainly fly from Durant’s hands, given this advantage. Also, there should be no issues with Durant taking Duncan off of the dribble and getting to the rim from the 3-point line. As one of the better scorers in NBA history, Durant will surely still be able to put points on the board.

Shaquille O’Neal vs. Hakeem Olajuwon

The matchup between Shaquille O’Neal and Hakeem Olajuwon is one we have a small sample size of from their careers and especially the 1995 NBA Finals. Olajuwon dominated those matchups, but he never saw the physically dominant prime Shaq that we all saw from the Lakers. Shaq can certainly impose his strength on Olajuwon in the paint, which will cause issues for Team Durant. This is not to say that Olajuwon cannot hold his own because we saw that he could against other big centers in his career. Shaq was a different animal in his prime years, and this is about as even of a matchup that we present today.

Hakeem does also hold some advantages, even over a prime Shaq. Hakeem is quite possibly the best defender in NBA history so figuring out Shaq’s weaknesses is something that Olajuwon can do very well. He will still be an aggressive and imposing defensive force. The only issue is if Shaq’s power will simply wear him down. On offense, Hakeem is also quicker and with better footwork than Shaq, which will be a big advantage for Team Durant. Olajuwon can also step out to get Shaq away from the basket and knock down mid to medium-range jump shots. Taking Shaq out of the paint will be critical to Team Durant’s possibility of grabbing offensive rebounds.

Team Fadeaway World Advantages

With every matchup between teams, each squad will hold one or more advantages over the other. For Team Fadeaway World, there are 2 situations that favor them greatly. The first is the presence of outside shooters and the pace they will work at. Magic Johnson pushes the pace and runs a transition offense better than anyone in NBA history ever has. This can open up great perimeter opportunities for their 2 shooters, Larry Bird and Stephen Curry. Curry and Bird will have almost no issues in set offenses finding their spots, but on the open floor, and the way they can spread the floor is so dangerous, defenders will have to account for them, leaving the lane quite open.

The second big advantage for Team Fadeaway World is their presence on the interior. Shaquille O’Neal and Tim Duncan present many matchup issues for Team Durant. Of course, Team Durant has Hakeem Olajuwon, but Kevin Durant as the other interior defender on 2 very skilled and dominant big men leaves Olajuwon having to do a lot of the work. Duncan/Shaq can easily wear down DUrant in the post, and when Hakeem comes to help, that leaves the other open or even their shooters on the outside.

Team Durant Advantages

Just as Team Fadeaway World owns a few advantages, Team Durant holds the same over them. The first glaring advantage is having the Top 3 basketball players of all time on the same team, but that is just scratching the surface. The amount of scoring this team provides is off of the charts. First, you have Jordan, Kobe, and Durant, who are arguable the best 3 scorers there have ever been. They can dominate mid-range, three-point line, or attack the rim to add up the points. Then you add LeBron James and Hakeem Olajuwon to the mix, and you may have a team that scores 150.0 PPG.

The next advantage for Team Durant is their basketball IQ and playmaking abilities. This isn’t to say that Team Fadeaway World isn’t intelligent, it is just that the overwhelming amount of greatness from Team Durant outweighs that of Team Fadeaway World. LeBron James being able to focus on being a pure point guard rather than doing everything on the court at once is a dangerous thought to fathom. Then you have the other 4 guys to round it out, and not many mistakes will be made by Team Durant. If they can utilize these advantages, Team Durant will run away with the series in 4 games.

Who Would Win This Matchup In A 7-Game Series?

Game 1 was all Team Durant from the opening tip-off. Nobody could slow down the duo of Michael Jordan and LeBron James as they dazzled fans for 48 straight minutes. Jordan led the scoring for Team Durant, while James led in the playmaking realm. The duo combined for 74 points out of the team’s total of 125. Stephen Curry and Shaquille O’Neal led the way for Team Fadeaway World. Team Durant leads the series 1-0 after a 125-102 win.

Game 2 was more of the same from the opening tip for Team Durant as they jumped out to a comfortable lead in the opening quarter behind 17 points from Kobe Bryant. Team Fadeaway World crept back into the game by feeding the bests down low and opening up the outside chances for Bird and Curry. Team Durant struggled to defend the inside-out game of Team Fadeaway World as Curry dropped 38 points to lead them to victory, 113-98.

Team Durant came out firing in Game 3, and Team Fadeaway World didn’t stand a chance. Hakeem Olajuwon finally got himself going and punished Shaq with his mid-range jump shots. Jordan and Kobe handled the rest of the scoring for Team Durant with 58 points combined, as LeBron handled the passing with 15 assists. Team Fadeaway World got some help from Bird, who had 34 points of his own, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the firepower of Team Durant, and they lead 2-1 in the series.

Game 4 was a back-and-forth bloodbath between these 2 legendary teams. Jordan and Magic battled on each end, jawing at each other for almost the entire game. LeBron got in some early foul trouble fighting through screens to catch Curry, and Team Fadeaway Worl capitalized. Curry would go for 45 points and 9 assists to capture Game 4 and even the series at 2 games apiece.

Game 5 turned the tides back in favor of Team Durant as KD and Jordan went into takeover mode. The 2 ran a perfect game off of one another and tired Team Fadeaway World out with their relentless defense and aggressive scoring. The series’ momentum quite possibly changed at the end of the 4th quarter when LeBron inexplicably was still on the court in a blowout and sprained his ankle, clearly limiting his abilities. Team Durant still came away with an easy victory behind 25 points from Durant and 33 points from Jordan to take a 3-2 series lead.

With LeBron considerably hobbled in Game 6, Stephen Curry went to work. He exposed the defense of Team Durant with his off-ball movement and went nuclear from beyond the three-point line. Kobe Bryant did everything he could to keep Team Durant in the game. In the end, the combination of Curry and Tim Duncan proved to be far too much for Team Durant without their lead playmaker, and Team Fadeaway World snuck out with a win to force a Game 7.

Game 7 was as epic of a matchup as anyone could have imagined. LeBron James was still visibly hurt but gutted it out and handed the playmaking duties over to Jordan and Bryant. With James serving as mainly a decoy, Jordan took control of the game and dropped 50 points to keep Team Durant ahead late. The combination of Duncan/Shaq on the inside and Bird/Curry on the outside proved to be too much for Team Durant in the end, with one of their leaders basically on the shelf. Stephen Curry had another memorable performance with 43 points as David slays Goliath, and Team Fadeaway World takes the series 4-3.

Final Result: Team Fadeaway World vs. Team Durant 4-3

Finals MVP: Stephen Curry

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