LeBron James vs Kevin Durant History: A look back at their matchups ahead of Lakers vs. Rockets in playoffs

The first time Kevin Durant and LeBron James stepped on the basketball court together the NBA landscape looked a lot different. 

The Lakers and Celtics rivalry had been renewed featuring the “Big Three” against Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol. 

The year was 2008. James led the league in scoring and Durant was named NBA Rookie of the Year for a forgotten franchise of green and gold, the now-defunct Seattle SuperSonics. 

By the time they faced off against each other, James was already a force of nature and the future face of the league. He had been to one NBA Finals, and would soon run off a streak of eight-straight appearances. But through that first meeting a budding rivalry of future NBA legends was born. 

Because over the next two decades, Durant and James would become two of the greatest players in NBA history, and their playoff matchups are the stuff of mythology and lore. 

And it’s not finished yet. 

The 2012 NBA Finals

The early years weren’t so much a rivalry, but a warning sign. Durant, Russell Westbrook, and James Harden were slowly turning the Oklahoma City Thunder into contenders. James finally left Cleveland to join forces with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in Miami. 

The first true collision between Durant and James came in the 2012 NBA Finals between the Thunder and the Heat. 

Durant was brilliant in that series. He averaged 30.6 points. But James was at the peak of his powers and still thirsting for his first NBA title. He finally got it. Miami won the series in five games, and even though Durant outscored him, James was named the Finals MVP. 

But it was that first playoff series that established the dynamic that would shape their future collisions. Durant could score and dazzle, but he needed more help to defeat LeBron. 

The Decision That Changed Everything

After James’ decision to leave Cleveland for Miami—only to return four years later—came another decision that created a seismic shift in the NBA. 

It was the Fourth of July in 2016, and the record-breaking 73-win Golden State Warriors had just blown a 3-1 lead to LeBron’s Cavaliers in the NBA Finals. 

Durant was a free agent, and he announced his decision in an article for The Player’s Tribune entitled “My Next Chapter.” Call it revenge. Call it opportunistic. Call it weak if you want. But Durant’s decision to join those Warriors and form a super team alongside Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green titled the basketball universe. 

Now with Durant, the Warriors didn’t just beat LeBron and the Cavaliers over the next two NBA Finals, they overwhelmed them. A gentleman’s sweep in 2017, a four-game sweep in 2018. Durant was the best player on the floor in both series. Winning back-to-back Finals MVP Awards and his first two NBA championships. 

Lakers and Suns Rebirths 

James’ back-to-back Finals losses to Durant and the Warriors led to his decision to head west and join the Los Angeles Lakers. As James was busy trying to build a contender in Hollywood, Durant was cementing his legacy with a third straight Finals appearance. 

But in Game 5 of the 2019 Finals, Durant snapped his Achilles. Everything changed. He signed with the Brooklyn Nets that summer, and oddly the rivalry went dormant. They never played against each other when Durant was in Brooklyn. 

When it resumed in 2023, Durant and James were in the same conference for the first time in their careers. James had joined forces with Anthony Davis and won another title in the bubble in 2020. Durant had been traded to the Phoenix Suns. Their head-to-head matchups were more frequent now, less mythic, but still meaningful. They had a couple clashes in the NBA Cup, including a quarterfinal game in 2023 that proved to be a step in crowning the Lakers as the first Cup Champions. 

One More Chapter—Maybe the Last

Now the story shifts again.

Durant, in his first season with the Houston Rockets, faces LeBron’s Lakers in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs. Not the Finals. Not the grand stage we’re used to. 

Durant’s Rockets are heavily favored over the injury-riddled Lakers, who will be starting the series without Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves. Durant is now the elder statesman on a young Rockets team that is young, deep, and athletic. 

James, at 41 years old, is trying to carry the Lakers on his back for one last career-defining playoff achievement. 

When they take the court on Saturday at Crypto.com Arena for Game 1 of the series, they will have played against each other a total of 46 times. James holds the overall edge at 26-20, but because of those back-to-back Warriors titles, Durant has the advantage in the postseason 9-5. 

If Durant and the Rockets win the series as expected, that advantage will only grow and it will likely close the book on their playoff rivalry. 

But if LeBron wins?

Strip away the nostalgia and mythology, because it might be one of the most remarkable feats in his 23-year career. 

Game 1 is scheduled for 5:30 PM PST on ABC.

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