If LeBron James is the king, Kevin Durant is doing everything he can to slither his way to the throne.
After becoming an NBA champion and winning Finals MVP honours for the first time last season, Durant boldly stated, “Since 2012, he’s (LeBron) the only one I looked at and said, he’s the only guy that can look me eye-to-eye.”
The quote can come across as a bit disingenuous, as Durant did join a team that won 73 games the year before to take down the league’s best player. Nonetheless, he did his part, averaging 35.2 points on an insane 69.8 per cent true shooting, 8.2 rebounds, 5.4 assists, 1.6 blocks and a steal as the Warriors won in five games.
Despite the lopsided series result, James was a force throughout and became the first ever player to average a triple-double in the Finals with 33.6 points (63 per cent true shooting), 12 rebounds, 10 assists, 1.4 steals and a block.
If your Christmas wish was to level the playing field between the two teams, it’s been granted. Steph Curry will miss the highly anticipated clash between the two teams on the 25th, allowing the two best players in the league to take centre stage.
In eight games since Curry went down against the New Orleans Pelicans, Durant has averaged 30.5 points, 9.1 rebounds, 5.9 assists and 2.9 blocks. The Warriors are 7-1 in those games, made all the more impressive by the absence of Draymond Green for five those games. Winners of 11 straight before Saturday’s loss, Golden State is merely percentage points behind the Houston Rockets for the outright top spot of the Western Conference.
It’s a reminder that, in some ways, the NBA has been robbed of seeing Durant or Curry at full tilt since the former decided to join forces with Golden State. Both are unselfish enough to accommodate each other and continue the ball- and player-movement oriented offence that head coach Steve Kerr has implemented, but they have also been quick to remind everyone of their greatness in the other’s absence.
In the east, after a sluggish 5-7 start to the season, LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers have rattled off 19 wins from their past 21 games to move within a game of the Boston Celtics for first place in the East. James has averaged 28.4 points, 8.2 rebounds, 9.2 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.1 blocks this season, and was named the Eastern Conference Player of the Month for games played through October and November.
One area where Durant has consistently had the edge on James is in shooting efficiency, but LeBron has somehow found a way to take that aspect of his game up a notch in his 15th season. A career 34.4 per cent shooter on three-pointers, he’s at 41.1 per cent for the season on a career-high 5.1 attempts. That consistency has carried over to the free throw line as well, where he’s at a career-high 78.5 per cent after shooting just 67.4 per cent last season.
One area that probably goes underappreciated on James’s part is his scoring. He has been an incredible playmaker over the years and playing a bit of a secondary role in that department to Kyrie Irving the past few seasons have done little to illuminate that facet of his game.
It may surprise some to note that both Durant and James share an identical career scoring average of 27.2 points per game over the regular season, and that the man known as The King is just 277 points away from joining the 30,000-point plateau heading into the Christmas showdown. Durant is on the verge of his own landmark, needing 143 more points to reach the 20,000-point club, in his 11th season.
While James can sometimes have his scoring go unnoticed, the ease with which Durant finds the bottom of the net can make his all-around ability fall on deaf ears. Kerr has challenged him to become a better rim protector as the Warriors have turned to him more at the center position than at any point previously in his career, and he has delivered. After averaging a career-best 1.6 blocks last season, he has bettered that mark yet again with 2.2 blocks this season — good for second in the entire NBA.
Another area in which he has evolved is his playmaking, and the attention he attracts on the offensive end is easily punished by his potent Warriors teammates on the catch. The Oklahoma City offence was heavily reliant on Russell Westbrook and Durant to score in isolation, and the democratic style of the Warriors has allowed him to explore the depths of his passing ability.
It’s evident that they’ve driven each other to improve in every way possible over the course of their careers, and 18 regular season battles and 10 playoff games have only added to the intrigue.
| Regular season H2H (per game) | LeBron James | Kevin Durant |
|---|---|---|
| Points | 28.8 | 28.9 |
| Rebounds | 7.1 | 6.8 |
| Assists | 6.6 | 3.7 |
| Steals | 2.2 | 1.3 |
| Blocks | 0.8 | 1.1 |
| Turnovers | 3.8 | 3.3 |
| FG% | 51.2 | 48.5 |
| 3PT% | 37.6 | 40.4 |
| FT% | 75.8 | 86.1 |
The reason Durant joined the Warriors was to win playoff games and rings, and his first title last season helped even their playoff score at five apiece.
| Playoff H2H (per game) | LeBron James | Kevin Durant |
|---|---|---|
| Points | 31.1 | 32.9 |
| Rebounds | 11.1 | 7.1 |
| Assists | 8.7 | 3.8 |
| Steals | 1.5 | 1.2 |
| Blocks | 0.7 | 1.3 |
| Turnovers | 4.0 | 3.0 |
| FG% | 52.0 | 55.2 |
| 3PT% | 31.9 | 43.7 |
| FT% | 74.7 | 88.9 |
LeBron also looks to have the edge in the social media department. While both have done their fair share through community projects, the three-time NBA champion has made it a point to speak up on social injustices over the past few years, particularly racial issues that have divided the U.S.
Stand for something of power and change or don’t stand for anything! #Equality #StriveForGreatness
1m Likes, 10.5k Comments – LeBron James (@kingjames) on Instagram: “Stand for something of power and change or don’t stand for anything! #Equality…”
Durant, meanwhile, has taken on the role of villain since his departure from the Thunder and did himself no favours when calling out his former team and coach on Twitter through what he thought was a secret account.
KD has secret accounts that he uses to defend himself and forgot to switch to them when he was replying to this guy I'm actually speechless pic.twitter.com/9245gnpa3c
— idk / 9-2 (@harrisonmc15) September 18, 2017
The 19th head-to-head between these two superstars looks set to be a Christmas classic, and although there won’t be any playoff implications, when it comes to two of the game’s greats, bragging rights are always up for grabs.
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