LeBron v. Durant

[Frank Ivy]

I don't want to get ahead of things, because the Celtics need to get slaughtered in Miami before this occurs, but I'm genuinely excited about seeing what may be the opening salvo of another Bird/Magic type career head-to-head, close to perennial match up.

I haven't been this interested in the NBA in years.

 

[JaYnYcE]

No comparison. Magic/Bird started in the NCAA national title and both went on to play for two of the greatest franchises in all of sports. Part of what made Magic/Bird so special was the long rivalry with the Lakers and Celtics. I believe both were champions by their 4th or 5th season too right?

I like Durant. Humble, nice and was almost a Husky. I hope he wins one this year. How sweet would it be if the Heat lose to a younger, quicker, better and more deeper team?


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[alexrgct]

This isn't the 1980s. With League Pass, social media, YouTube, 24/7 sports highlights, etc., you can play in OKC and be as iconic a player as you could if you played for the Lakers.

 

[alexrgct]

Yes, magic won his first championship as a rookie, Bird in his second year in the league.

 

[JaYnYcE]

It's the historic rivalry between the teams. There's no historic rivalry between Oklahoma and Miami unless you're counting BCS appearances. Just the greatest players in the league at their respective positions.


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[Frank Ivy]

It's the historic rivalry between the teams. There's no historic rivalry between Oklahoma and Miami unless you're counting BCS appearances.

Give it some time.
Laker/Celtic history didn't make Magic/Bird special.
Magic and Bird made Magic/Bird special. The timing of the two careers coincided. They are both in the top 10 players ever. They both won multiple MVPs and championships. They looked about as different as two human beings can look. Their teams played distinctly different styles.
Sure, it helped that it was two storied franchises, but Magic/Bird for any two teams would have been legend.

Give LeBron/Durant some time. You never know what it might offer. Start with this - while Magic and Bird are among the greatest ever, neither one was anywhere near the scoring talent of either Durant or LeBron. We may end up watching a 50/50 shootout in a couple weeks. Many, many possibilities.



Kids today are so impatient.

 

[JaYnYcE]

I hear what you're saying, I just disagree with the teams not playing a big part in the development of that rivalry.


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[UConnSwag11]

youre forgetting that there are no rivalries in the nba bc no teams hate each other like they used to they all are buddies.... some might seem like rivalries but its only bc of the fans and the atmosphere, i do feel its also bc of the rules nowadays compared to the 80's and 90's..i did like when durant called bosh a fake tough guy and i love how kg doesnt like anyone but his teammates

 

[UConnSwag11]

if its okc miami i call okc in 6

 

[JaYnYcE]

Players come and go, the fans and history is what makes the rivalry. Paul Pierce has said on many occasions that growing up in L.A. he hated the Celtics. I don't think any player at UConn generally hates Syracuse.

And if you're mentioning the 80's and 90's, Magic and Bird were great friends but were rivals on the court. Same thing with Ewing and Jordan. Best of friends in the off season until the season started. Melo and LeBron are the best of friends and have been playing each other since high school. Doesn't mean that Melo isn't aware of the fact that LeBron stands in the way of him getting out of the East for the next few years.

The players playing for the teams know that team's history with certain teams and know the difference when a rival comes to town over any other team. I remember prior to Knicks/Heat series the players were acknowledging the whole Pat Riley leaving NY for Miami and the wrestling/boxing matches that occurred during the games in the past.

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[dsturdy5]

Don't discount the east coast vs west coast part of the Celtics/Lakers rivalry in the 80's too. Glitzy, "Showtime" Lakers vs blue collar Celtics. As someone stated, the two franchises were as different as could be in make up, playing style, location, fan base, coaching, head to head history...Before 1985, they Lakers had never beaten Boston for a championship and I believe they are the only franchise to win a title in the Garden not named the Celtics.

Miami has only been around about 20 years and OKC is still a new NBA market. There isn't the history to those franchises yet. Now, an annual LeBron vs Durant meeting in June could change all of that but such change takes time.

 

[UConn990411]

youre forgetting that there are no rivalries in the nba bc no teams hate each other like they used to they all are buddies.... some might seem like rivalries but its only bc of the fans and the atmosphere, i do feel its also bc of the rules nowadays compared to the 80's and 90's..i did like when durant called bosh a fake tough guy and i love how kg doesnt like anyone but his teammates

I would definitely consider the Celtics and Heat rivals - not a lot of friends between the two teams.

While there may never be another Bird-Magic rivalry (there's too many factors that made it so great), I think Durant-LeBron could be a great one. Durant and LeBron are unquestionably the two best players in the league, and Miami and OKC are both set up to contend for the next several years. And unlike the manufactured LeBron-Kobe rivalry, Durant and LeBron actually play the same position.

But hopefully the Celtics make this a moot point, at least for the short term.

 

[UConnSwag11]

I would definitely consider the Celtics and Heat rivals - not a lot of friends between the two teams.

While there may never be another Bird-Magic rivalry (there's too many factors that made it so great), I think Durant-LeBron could be a great one. Durant and LeBron are unquestionably the two best players in the league, and Miami and OKC are both set up to contend for the next several years. And unlike the manufactured LeBron-Kobe rivalry, Durant and LeBron actually play the same position.

But hopefully the Celtics make this a moot point, at least for the short term.

yeah but i dont consider it a rivalry just bc theyre the best players and play the same position, there needs to be some animosity and hate between them, hard fouls etc

 

[UConn990411]

Hence that it could be a great rivalry, not that it is.

 

[champs99and04]

It's interesting, because as I was watching Durant take over the Spurs series as LeBron was simultaneously unable to to stop the bleeding in the Celtics series, I thought Durant was extremely close to ripping the "Best player in the world" belt away from LeBron.

Then, game six happened, one of the best individual performances I've seen considering what was at stake, and how much pressure the man was under. I better not hear about LeBron's lack of "clutch gene" anymore, because he's already come through with two of the clutchest performances in recent memory with his teams back to the wall in this postseason alone (gm 4 @ Indy and Thursday night). Not only was his overall greatness as a player on the verge of being disrespected and questioned, but if the Heat had not won game six Thursday night, LeBron's stellar resume was about to be completely defecated on.

Nobody can control a game in the palm of their hand like LeBron, but nobody can score like Durant. He has one of the most beautiful releases on his jump shot that I've seen in quite some time. If Durant wanted to score 35 points a game I really believe he could. And he's gotten DRAMATICALLY better with every year in the league. I watched him get pushed and bumped off his spots in the conference finals last year by Jason Kidd and Shawn Marion, much like Dirk got abused by the Heat in the 2006 finals. People ripped Westbrook for not getting Durant the ball, but half the problem was that Durant didn't know how to get the ball. He anailalated Stephen Jackson and Kawhi Leonard, both very physical defensive players, in the conference finals this year. His biggest challenge, of course, will be LeBron in the finals, if that matchup does present itself. At this point LeBron may be the only player in the league capable of slowing Durant down.

As a basketball fan I'm practically on my knees begging the basketball god's for a Heat-Thunder finals. I really believe a Thunder-Celts final would be a clunker, and that's nothing against the C's, it's just that they are coming off back to back seven game series, they are extremely banged up, and the Thunder are younger and better. That series would probably be over in five or six.

 

[JaYnYcE]

Clutch performances, doesn't mean anything if they lose tonight.


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[JaYnYcE]

If the Thunder beat the Celtics they would have beaten a handful of hall of famers this post season. Think about who they've beaten so far. No matter who they face they will have faced teams that are responsible for 10 of the last 11 Championships.


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[Chin Diesel]

Clutch performances, doesn't mean anything if they lose tonight.


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Amen to that. I was watching ESPN 30 for 30 or whatever the heck it's called earlier this morning regarding Knicks and Pacers. Unfortunately for both Reggie and Ewing there aren't any trophy's being held up at the end of the show.

As most of us agree, Lebron is one of the great talents of all-time and a fantasy stat phenom. But, if he wants his career to be mentioned with Magic, Jordan, Bird, etc. he needs some rings.

 

[beerfan]

Why don't you ask Lebron for change for a dollar...... because he only give you three quarters.

Celtics will win tonight.

 

[JaYnYcE]

Yea, I watched that too. Damn Reggie Miller.


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[MilliniumPrince]

Players come and go, the fans and history is what makes the rivalry. Paul Pierce has said on many occasions that growing up in L.A. he hated the Celtics. I don't think any player at UConn generally hates Syracuse.

And if you're mentioning the 80's and 90's, Magic and Bird were great friends but were rivals on the court. Same thing with Ewing and Jordan. Best of friends in the off season until the season started. Melo and LeBron are the best of friends and have been playing each other since high school. Doesn't mean that Melo isn't aware of the fact that LeBron stands in the way of him getting out of the East for the next few years.

The players playing for the teams know that team's history with certain teams and know the difference when a rival comes to town over any other team. I remember prior to Knicks/Heat series the players were acknowledging the whole Pat Riley leaving NY for Miami and the wrestling/boxing matches that occurred during the games in the past.

Magic and Bird hated each other for years. The friendship came later. In their case, the teams the played on enhanced the rivalry, but it was more about the two of them. Their NCAA catch-up is still the highest rated Final Four game of all-time. Their rivalry was about timing, comparable skill sets, race, and talent. Hard to repeat any of that now. LBJ vs. Durant could be a great one. Only time will tell. LBJ is the better player, Durant has the better team.