Kevin Durant and LeBron James have been two of the faces of the NBA for well over a decade now and have had some legendary battles over the years.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Durant, now 35 years old, is in his 16th year in the league, while James, now 39, is in his 21st, and the two are still at the top of the basketball world.
Just one week ago, Durant and James teamed up for the NBA All-Star Game. This was an NBA-record 20th appearance for LeBron and 14th for KD.
”It’s just a testament to the hard work and the enthusiasm he has for the game of basketball,” Durant said of James’ All-Star appearance record postgame. “Obviously multitalented at everything on the floor, but I think anybody in any walk of life can pick up on his love and care for the game of basketball, his teammates, and just helping pushing the game forward. I think everybody can take from that and learn, and his story has been inspiring for the last 20 years.”
This season, Durant is averaging 28.1 points on 53/43/86 splits, 6.7 rebounds and 5.6 assists in 37.1 minutes per game across 50 contests for the Suns. On Friday, he moved past Carmelo Anthony for ninth place on the NBA’s all-time scoring list.
James, the NBA’s all-time leading scorer and only 102 points away from becoming the first player to reach 40,000 points for his career, is averaging 24.9 points, 7.8 assists and 7.2 rebounds in 34.9 minutes across 50 games this season for the Lakers.
The five-year difference in the NBA is a lot, and Durant recognizes that what James is doing is truly remarkable.
“When you’re 39 in your 20th year, and then half your life is in the (NBA), and you’ve played against 40% of the players who have ever played in the league, that longevity has to mean something,” Durant said about James last week in the Boardroom Cover Story. “That has to be the standard.”
Kevin Durant’s respect for LeBron James’ greatness goes beyond just his accolades.
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James has played 1,471 regular season contests compared to Durant’s 1,036 regular season games. Throughout his time in the NBA, James has won four NBA championships, four MVPs, four Finals MVPs, made the All-NBA first-team 13 times among several other historic achievements, including the top 10 of seemingly every postseason totals list.
James’ accolades alone have him in the greatest-of-all-time conversation vs. Michael Jordan consistently. Jordan, who retired three separate times, played until he was 40 and averaged 21.2 points, 5.9 rebounds and 4.4 assists his last two seasons in the NBA with the Washington Wizards.
For Durant, who himself has racked up the accolades, he looks even further than LeBron’s accomplishments to define his greatness.
“I truly appreciate someone who has been in that s— for a long time,” Durant said. “You don’t get it until you hit like 15, 16 years in the league how hard it is to wake up every day, knowing what you know and still coming to work and still having to mesh with other people who are just experiencing this for the first time or still don’t know as much as you know. And you still get up and work as hard as you can, and be the bests teammate and work — that’s greatness to me.
“That’s something I appreciate about ‘Bron and what I overlooked and underestimated when it comes to him, his enthusiasm and love for the game of basketball. And it’s that simple.”
KD says LeBron’s longevity is the standard when it comes to greatness. Full Boardroom Cover Story convo drops Tuesday on the B/R app and @boardroom platforms pic.twitter.com/zoyEHn9UoF
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) February 18, 2024
The Lakers and Suns square off this afternoon at 1:30 p.m. MST for their final head-to-head matchup this season. While LeBron is currently questionable with a left ankle injury, if he is able to go, it will be Durant and James’ 40th meeting all time. Remarkably, the two superstars had not squared off in five years prior to this season.
James leads the head-to-head regular season series 18-7 over Durant, while Durant leads the postseason head-to-head series 9-5. All of these postseason matchups came across three NBA Finals, in which Durant won two (2017, 2018 with Warriors vs. Cavaliers) and James won one (2012 with Heat vs. Thunder).
Kevin Durant passes Carmelo Anthony for 9th place on NBA’s all-time scoring list
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Brendan Mau is a senior writer covering the Phoenix Suns and more for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on X via @Brendan_Mau
