LeBron James, Kevin Durant and a legendary rivalry's possible last stand

Atlantic76ersCelticsKnicksNetsRaptorsCentralBucksBullsCavaliersPacersPistonsSoutheastHawksHeatHornetsMagicWizardsSouthwestGrizzliesMavericksPelicansRocketsSpursNorthwestJazzNuggetsThunderTimberwolvesTrail BlazersPacificClippersKingsLakersSunsWarriorsScores & ScheduleStandingsThe Bounce NewsletterNBA DraftPodcastsFantasyNBA OddsNBA PicksWhat Makes Up Championship DNA?Hollinger's Playoff PreviewPlayer Poll: Who is the MVP?Player Poll: Who Will Win Title?NBA Playoffs LeBron James and Kevin Durant battle in Game 2 of the Lakers-Rockets' first-round series. Ronald Martinez / Getty Images Share articleNBA basketball has always been a story written by its stars — and this year’s first round was supposed to feature two of the game’s most prolific on the same stage. For years, LeBron James and Kevin Durant have defined NBA greatness, winning championships and chasing one another in the sport’s defining moments. Now, what may be their last postseason chapter is slipping away. Durant missed Game 3 on Friday night, and the Lakers rolled again, taking a commanding 3-0 series lead. James, at 41, has been dominant in the series without his star teammates Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves. Durant has now missed Games 1 and 3, leaving his status for Sunday’s Game 4 uncertain. It’s a sad final twist for a rivalry that once belonged exclusively to the game’s grandest stage in June. It’s the fourth time the two titans of the sport have faced off in the playoffs. The previous three all came in the NBA Finals. Their first meeting came in the 2012 NBA Finals, when James was in his second year with the Miami Heat and on the precipice of his place among the league’s greatest ever. He just had to win his elusive first finals. Nine seasons in, a 27-year-old James, along with big three running mates Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, ran into a 23-year-old, already three-time scoring champion, Kevin Durant and his ascending Oklahoma City Thunder. Aside from Durant were young, burgeoning superstars in Russell Westbrook and James Harden. James was searching for his long-awaited first title, while Durant was looking for confirmation of his ascension. The league MVP outdueled the young incumbent, with James averaging 28.6 points, 10.2 rebounds, and 7.4 assists in a five-game gentleman’s sweep of Durant and the Thunder. It was James’ first of four NBA titles and first of four finals MVPs. Five years later, Durant answered when he joined the Golden State Warriors. Durant averaged 35.2 points per game, returning the favor in a gentleman’s sweep over James as the Warriors cruised to a 4-1 series win. It was Durant’s first championship since James defeated him in 2012, and this time, he stood at the peak. Durant also won finals MVP. In 2018, the two ran it back again. For the second-straight year, Durant and James faced off in the NBA Finals. It was the third time the two matched up on the game’s biggest stage and the fourth consecutive time James led Cleveland against Golden State. Durant averaged 28.8 points, 10.8 rebounds, and 7.5 assists per game in a series sweep over Cleveland, winning his second straight finals MVP. James averaged 34.0 points, 8.5 rebounds, and 10.0 assists per game in a futile effort, unable to stop his opposing star from becoming one of only a select group of players in NBA history to win two consecutive finals MVPs, a list that includes James, who won his first against Durant six years prior. After the 2018 series, the two juggernauts largely went their separate ways from meeting in the NBA Finals. James joined the Western Conference, signing with the Los Angeles Lakers, where he has been ever since. Durant wasn’t there to meet him for James’ most recent finals run in the COVID-19 bubble in 2020, where he won his fourth title. Now the two are the elder statesmen of the league. And even in the twilight of their careers, neither has faded from superstardom. James is in his NBA-record 23rd season and is still leading his team deep into April. James averaged 20.9 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 7.2 assists in 60 regular-season games for the Lakers. It’s his lowest points per game average since his rookie season in 2003-04. It’s also the 23rd straight season in which he has averaged over 20 points, an NBA record. Durant is still one of the game’s most gifted scorers in his 18th season. The 37-year-old put up 26 points a night in 78 games for the Houston Rockets. It’s the most games he’s played since he left the Warriors in 2018-19, and it’s the 17th consecutive season Durant has averaged over 25 points per game. But this series has turned into a reminder of how fragile time can be. Instead of one more showcase between legends, the Lakers have seized control of the series while Durant, who was missing on the Rockets’ bench, is trying to get back on the floor. In the current first-round series James has averaged 25.3 points, 9.7 rebounds, and 8.7 assists through the first three games. On the contrary, Durant has only played in one game this series, a Game 2 loss, where he recorded 23 points and a career-playoff high nine turnovers. It’s possible this is the last playoff matchup between James and Durant. Their résumés are secure. James is the NBA’s all-time leading scorer. Durant is one of the greatest scorers the game has ever seen, ranking fifth all-time. Both are multi-time champions. Both are future Hall of Famers. They’ve long since carried the torch, alongside Stephen Curry, and defined an era. And yet they continue, even with aging bodies and retirement looming. “I’m just so grateful that I graced the league with these guys at the same time,” Durant recently told The Athletic of James and Curry. “Because we’ve competed so hard against one another for so long, and then when you get older you start appreciating how hard it is to get up every day. You got aches and bruises sometimes, you don’t even know where they come from.” No one knows for certain if this is their final postseason meeting. But if it is, it may come with something far more quietly than a first-round battle laden with personal history. With James still pushing forward and Durant fighting to return, the clock on one of the league’s defining rivalries is suddenly running out. Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms