Shannon Sharpe says that LeBron James and Kevin Durant would easily beat the duo of Magic Johnson and Larry Bird in a 2v2.
Advertisement
Pitting legends against one another to see who would win a hypothetical 1-on-1 isn’t something new. Everybody loves to ponder on whether Kobe Bryant could best his idol Michael Jordan in a game to 11, of if Hakeem Olajuwon would be able to beat Shaquille O’Neal if he didn’t have his rock steady Rockets teammates alongside him.
Skip Bayless and Shannon Sharpe indulged in a similar exercise on FS1’s Undisputed where they tried to debate who would win a 2v2: LeBron James and Kevin Durant against Larry Bird and Magic Johnson.
Skip Bayless was firm in his selection of taking Larry and Magic over the ‘King’ and KD as he claims that Bird is a more skilled player than Kevin Durant. “I don’t care what game it is, I’m not going to bet against Larry Bird and Magic Johnson,” said Skip.
Shannon Sharpe takes Kevin Durant and LeBron James in the 2v2 by a landslide
Sharpe doesn’t seem to share Skip’s sentiment one bit as he joyously exclaims that Durant and Bron would “blow the doors off Magic and Bird!”
The main argument between the two teams would be athletic prowess. LeBron James and Kevin Durant are leaps and bounds ahead of Bird and Magic in terms of athleticism, both on the offensive and defensive ends of the floor.
LeBron and Durant are much quicker on their feet so as to blow by the old school rivals, while on the defensive end, possess the lateral quickness to keep up with the Laker and Celtic legends.
However, selling Magic and Larry short in this 2v2 would be disrespectful to all they have accomplished. What they lack in defensive capabilities, they would make up in defensive anticipation. Both are some of the smartest players to ever step onto NBA hardwood so expect the 80s rivals to pull together a couple of stops here and there.
