Time has passed for LeBron, Durant

THE sun has set on the LeBron vs KD rivalry. For almost a decade, the league was propelled by these two contrasting small forwards. Even when Steph Curry broke the league with his upstart Golden State Warriors, these two still made it about them.

The main stalwarts of the superteam era, the King and Durant brought player empowerment to unprecedented heights. They made players actual partners and major influences in team building. In the past, players were treated only as employees with hardly any say in their teams’ composition, including the coaching choice.

They brought teams like the Cleveland Cavaliers and OKC Thunder to heights that no other player from the franchise could emulate. However, the two players have peaked, and the way it looks now, it’s all downhill from here on in.

Too much power?

Yes, there is such a thing as having too much power. Power corrupts, and we Filipinos should be experts on how that is true.

LeBron James and Kevin Durant were given too much power by their current teams. The LA Lakers and Brooklyn Nets both look like trainwrecks, and the two franchises’ futures are murky, to say the least.

There is a reason why the positions of general managers and presidents of basketball operations are reserved for the elite basketball minds — the future of franchises rests upon them.

Having a boatload of draft picks will not lift your franchise, what matters is how you actually use them, and the most successful teams have the best front offices.

The formula for superteam success has been busted, and since the Lakers’ run in 2020, superteams have been beaten by teams that were built through the draft. Those teams which gave too much power to players ended up empty — take Houston as an example outside the

Lakers and Nets.

The LA Clippers are another example. The huge gamble they took on Kawhi Leonard, including mortgaging their future for Paul George, has yet to pay off with a title. There is a big possibility that it never will, and Kawhi has played less than half of his games.

Patience pays off

In contrast, the teams at the top of the standings today are those whose stars were patient. Giannis Antetokoumpo of the Milwaukee Bucks, Devin Booker of the Phoenix Suns, and Jayson Tatum of the Boston Celtics all had their “great stats, bad team” seasons.

Critics also exhorted them to leave their teams and seek greener pastures, especially for Giannis.

Pundits were almost certain he would be ready to leave Milwaukee. However, his patience with the franchise paid off, as well their front office’s decision not to panic, but instead, be ready with the assets to pounce at the right time, for the right player.

Jrue Holiday was the missing piece, and they won a title when they got him. Many thought they overpaid for Holiday, but judging a trade is incomplete at the moment, you need to see the overall effect of the trade in the long term. Ultimately, the goal is a title, and whatever price you paid for the title is worth it, as Laker fans would say.

But the biggest payoff for the Milwaukee Bucks is that Giannis is locked firmly in their team. All the noise and speculation on whether the Greek Freak is happy, or should he demand to be somewhere else have been shut down.

Winning solves everything in competitive team sports.

‘Superteam’ is dead

Teams following the superteam paradigm should learn from LeBron James and Kevin Durant. While they will go down as two of the greatest to ever play the game, they will also be cautionary tales that team building is left to the true experts — those with a firm vision and a long-term game plan.

In most cases, those people are not the ones currently dribbling the basketball.

In hoops, as in life in general, take the best advice: Leave it to the experts, and stay in your lane.