LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers shoots over Kevin Durant of the Golden State Warriors during the second half at Quicken Loans Arena on December 25, 2016 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo : Getty Images/Jason Miller)
After the recent showdown between the Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers, the issue of who's the best player in the past half-decade has been brought up again.
With the two best players of the past few years (that's LeBron James and Kevin Durant) now headlining the two best players of each conference, the NBA has been reduced to a duality.
While Durant's decision to join the Golden State Warriors was widely criticized, he looks like he's having a good time (barring a few isolated incidents). This is how he wants to play and the projected power struggle between Durant and reigning MVP Steph Curry did not seem to materialize.
LeBron James also made his move, leaving best bud Dwyane Wade in Miami to form his own, younger Big Three in his hometown. After a rocky start and a loss in the Finals to the Warriors, they finally got it together.
Durant is not so keen on a personal rivalry, as it seems to have spoiled his mood after their big win over LeBron James last Monday. Clutch Points narrated how Durant fiercely responded to Michael Lee of The Vertical.
"I didn't know we were playing one-on-one out there," Durant told The Vertical's Michael Lee. "I mean, it's eight other guys out there, it's not just me and him..."
"I never really looked at it as, 'I lost to this guy, I beat this guy that many times.' We're playing as a team. There is a lot of stuff that can happen for you to win a game, especially when it's good players. But I didn't know we were playing one-on-one. I didn't know that was a thing. Do you talk about any matchups against other guys? Does John Wall have more wins against Kyrie Irving? Do y'all talk about that, too? If you want to play one-on-one, look at the stat line across the line, me and him, individually. But we're not playing one-on-one out there. If we were, then you can start talking. It's a team game."
Despite all the bashing that Durant took, NBA fans can't deny that adding Durant to the Warriors-Cavs emerging rivalry that may lead to the third straight NBA Finals showdown just made it more interesting.
LeBron has dominated Durant 18-5 but Mercury News points out, "the statistics have been relatively even. Both average right around 30 points on right around 50 percent shooting against each other. LeBron has historically been better, but the matchup and talent discrepancy is close, which, for the Warriors, is a massive upgrade from the past."
Indeed, LeBron has had the benefit of having the better teams. The Miami Heat Big Three in 2012 was better than the fledgling trio of the Thunder (even though they are all MVP candidates now). That has changed now, and how LeBron will react now that he's on the disadvantage is the highly anticipated question.
