LeBron James and Kevin Durant is arguably the rivalry that has defined the modern era of the NBA. Two superstars who have been playing in the NBA for more than 10 years now, and have won everything possible, including MVPs, NBA championships, Finals MVPs, and more.
The duo has faced off in the NBA Finals three times in their career. The first time was in 2012, when LeBron was part of the Miami Heat, teaming with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. Whereas Durant was with the Oklahoma City Thunder and had Russell Westbrook and James Harden by his side. LeBron won the first encounter 4-1.
The next two times were when Durant was playing alongside Steph Curry and Klay Thompson in Golden State, forming one of the greatest teams of all time. Durant and the Warriors won both finals in 2017 and 2018, winning two NBA championships and Finals MVP in the process.
Interestingly enough, both players won their first NBA championships while playing against each other. On top of that, both of them were villainous figures in the NBA at the time, as they had formed super teams in order to get themselves in the best position to win a title.
But despite their rivalry being a key part of the NBA, it has been a long time since the two faced each other. In fact, since Kevin Durant moved to the Brooklyn Nets, we have not seen LeBron James and Kevin Durant face each other in an NBA game as part of the Lakers and the Nets respectively.
The last time Durant and LeBron played against each other was Christmas 2018. James was in his first season with the Lakers, and Durant was playing what would end up being his last season with the Warriors. James actually won the last encounter between the two.
And now, the duo will be facing off against each other for the first time since Christmas 2018, and interestingly, their game will happen on Christmas 2021, 3 years to the day since their last game against each other. Fans will be heavily anticipating their first game in 3 years.
