Kevin Durant and LeBron James were the two biggest names in the NBA for a long time. But their rivalry never really flourished in the league. Many deemed the reason behind this to be the two superstar’s budding friendship outside the court. However, KD dismissed that theory by bringing up the example of Magic Johnson and Larry Bird’s rivalry in 2013.
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A Sports Illustrated post from 2013 attributed KD and LeBron’s rivalry a similar status to Larry Bird and Magic Johnson’s iconic tussle in the 80s. Kevin Durant seemed very pleased with the comparison. He mentioned in his feature for the article that he always looked up to LeBron’s performances and strived to improve, closely studying the latter’s box scores and game clips.
This excerpt from the article well explains the comparison between KD and James,
“James already passed like Magic, but Durant started to pass like Bird. They hopped on parallel evolutionary tracks, advancing in the same manner at the same time. When a quote from James is relayed—’He’s my inspiration. We’re driving one another’—Durant nods in approval. It’s as if the finest poets in the world are also each other’s muses.”
Kevin Durant admitted that although he did not watch many other basketball games, he never failed to look at LeBron’s box score. He studied every rebound, shot, and assist by James and could precisely note how the King performed those feats on the court.
Durant is undoubtedly one of the best students of basketball. Therefore, he understands that it’s possible to maintain a friendship outside the court after trying to take each other’s head off on the hardwood. But most people still thought KD was always soft when it came to competing against LeBron.
Therefore, the then Oklahoma City Thunder star had to bring up Bird and Magic’s relationship dynamic to drive his point home. He told SI,
“People see two young black basketball players at the top of their game and think we should clash. They want the conflict. They want the hate. They forget Bird cried for Magic. A friend was getting on me about this recently, and I said, ‘Calm down. I’m not taking it easy on him. Don’t you know I’m trying to destroy the guy every time I go on the court?'”
The article came out during the 2013 Playoffs, one year after LeBron’s Miami Heat defeated KD’s Oklahoma City Thunder 4-1. The Heat won their second title in 2012 and brought in another title with LeBron at their helm in 2013.
