James-Durant matchup would have lots of layers
Kevin Durant admires LeBron James from afar, marveling at how Cleveland’s main man finds ways to elevate his game at age 32 — year after year, title after title. Kobe Bryant adapted in similar fashion.
Ten years into his NBA journey, the unassuming scoring machine everyone calls “KD” strives to emulate those superstars. Soon he likely will see James again in the NBA Finals, this time in a matchup that has been talked about from the very moment Durant departed Oklahoma City to join Golden State last July.
The anticipation of this potential matchup has overshadowed other postseason series.
Durant understands that, like LeBron and Kobe, it’s time to take his game to another level. They each have something Durant wants.
“It’s a mindset, when you don’t realize how old you are or how many years you’ve played or mileage or the moment,” Durant said. “You’ve just got to try to keep getting better. You have that mindset when you step on the court that you want to be the best player on the court. It may not happen every game. You may not be the best, you might not have the best game, but just having that mindset, you never get satisfied with what you do.
“That’s the mindset he (James) has taken on, that’s the mindset Kobe did. There’s a lot of other players that did it. I feel like I’m on the same path as far as — I wouldn’t say I’m going to have four MVPs or three championships, I’m not guaranteeing that, but I want that. On the basketball court, I want to be consistent and great every night.”
James and Durant have squared off 23 times during their NBA careers, and James has a decisive 18-5 edge, including 4-1 in the postseason and 1-0 in battles for the championship. Now the basketball world is watching and waiting, even hoping for a Durant-James rematch. And this one could live up to the hype.
After swatting aside their opponents in the first and second rounds, the Cavaliers and Warriors stand an unblemished 16-0 combined as they await their conference finals opponents. That adds to the promise of another must-see, best-ofseven series featuring arguably the league’s best players in James and Durant — both playing some of the best basketball of their careers — and a marquee All-Star cast that includes two-time MVP Stephen Curry, Kyrie Irving, Draymond Green, Klay Thompson and Kevin Love.
And, of course, it would be the third straight season the Cavs and Warriors meet with the title on the line, after Golden State won in six games in 2015 and Cleveland won in seven last year.
It’s a showdown made in hoops heaven, but Durant is downplaying a matchup with James as anything worthy of stealing the spotlight from the others.
“If we do end up making it to the finals and Cleveland makes it to the finals, it’s never going to be me versus LeBron,” Durant said. “It’s going to be team versus team. It’s not an individual sport. We’re not playing one-on-one out there, as much as people want us to.”
They have history and a rivalry — albeit a rather one-sided one. James, then with the Miami Heat, won the first of his three NBA titles by beating Durant’s Oklahoma City Thunder in 2012.
They are linked by talent, tenacity and drive. Olympic gold medal-winning teammates, they have become close friends and workout companions. They spent two summers pushing each other during training sessions in James’ hometown of Akron, Ohio. Little did these two realize then that their stellar NBA careers would become even more intertwined when Durant bolted from the Thunder and faced the constant scrutiny that came with his decision.
In many ways, James actually helped show him how it’s done.
He as much as anyone understood the tornado of criticism aimed at Durant for signing with a “super team” to chase a championship. James left his home state in 2010 for Miami, where he won two titles and played in four straight NBA Finals before leading Cleveland to its first major sports championship in 52 years.
Before Durant returned to Oklahoma City — a place he still holds dear and supports — earlier this season to face fans who are still stung and feel betrayed, he sought James out for advice on handling the hatred.
Now they’re on a path toward Cavs-Warriors 3.0.