LeBron James vs. Kevin Durant: The significance of their latest, and quite possibly last, playoff meeting

We were all so young then — LeBron James and Kevin Durant, especially. The first time the two faced each other in the postseason was back in the 2012 NBA Finals. James was 27 years old and coming off his third MVP award. KD was just 23 and already the NBA scoring champ. To say that was a highly anticipated matchup is an understatement. 

Fast forward 14 years, and the pair is set to battle each other in the playoffs for just the fourth time in their careers when the Lakers play the Rockets in the Western Conference No. 4 vs. No. 5 first-round series beginning Saturday. As Rockets head coach Ime Udoka recently put it, “it’s prime time.” The matchup scratches the nostalgia itch while also asking an obvious question: might this be the last time we get LeBron vs. KD in the playoffs?

“Two of the best, still doing it at this stage of their careers,” Udoka said. “A lot of storylines, a lot of history, and I’m sure this will add another chapter.”

LeBron vs. KD playoff history

Now 37, Durant turned in another high-level season that should be rewarded by him making All-NBA for the 12th time in his career. After playing 60 games, James will have his league record 21-straight consecutive years of making All-NBA snapped — and yet his performance this season at 41 years old remains as impressive as ever. 

In the 14 postseason games against each other, James has averaged 31.9 points, 10.3 rebounds and 9 assists. Meanwhile, Durant has posted averages of 31.6 points, 8.1 rebounds and 4.8 assists. In mid-March, KD was asked who was the toughest player he’s guarded in his career — and he landed on James during his Miami Heat days.

That version of LeBron beat Durant and the Thunder in the 2012 Finals, winning the championship in five games. Durant spent four more seasons with the Thunder before leaving Oklahoma City for Golden State, where he once again met James in the Finals — and got his revenge, winning back-to-back championships with the Warriors in 2017 and 2018.

That 2018 Finals matchup was the last for James in a Cleveland uniform, and it resulted in KD and the Warriors dispatching him in a sweep without compunction. In an alternate universe, that series might have gone differently if the Cavs had won Game 1 and not wasted an all-time playoff performance from LeBron, who scored 51 points (going 19 for 32 from the floor and 10 of 11 from the line), along with eight rebounds and eight assists. His big night — and any chance Cleveland had of making the Warriors sweat a little — was undone when J.R. Smith (in)famously screwed up late in the game when he thought the Cavs were ahead. They were not. That led to the creation of a classic meme and later to James punching a white board in the locker room out of frustration.

It’s unlikely that anything in this year’s Rockets-Lakers clash will get James that worked up. The expectations aren’t nearly as high, and James — like everyone else — knows the Lakers have a difficult task ahead. Los Angeles won 50 games for the second straight season and had momentum going into the final month of the regular season after posting a 15-2 record in March. Luka Dončić was playing at a top-five MVP level while Austin Reaves looked capable and comfortable as the No. 2 option. Being the third guy was obviously something new for James, but he thrived in the role. So did the Lakers. 

As Lakers head coach JJ Redick rightly explained, the Lakers were at their best this season when LeBron was third in usage rate, allowing him to do all the other things he’s so good at — rebounding, passing, running the break, dunking on dudes — while adding scoring as needed. It was all going pretty well for the Lakers. Until it wasn’t. 

In the penultimate week of the season, the Lakers got throttled in a game at OKC, losing by 43 — their worst defeat in years. To add injury to insult, Dončić suffered a hamstring strain and Reaves hurt his oblique. Both are unavailable for Game 1 on Saturday against Houston, and the chances of them playing at all in the series seem slim. 

That leaves LeBron right where he’s been his entire career: with the weight of his franchise squarely on his shoulders. It figures to be a heavy lift. The Lakers roster was extremely thin even when all three of their top players were healthy and available. Now it’s left to James to try to bootstrap an undermanned (and undertalented) squad into the second round against KD and the Rockets. Unlike LeBron, Durant will have plenty of help, including Alperen Sengun, Amen Thompson and Reed Sheppard. 

Considering L.A.’s staffing issues, it’s not surprising that the Rockets are heavy betting favorites to win the series. If KD gets the better of LeBron again and the Lakers are bounced out of the playoffs in the first round for the third straight year, the immediate question becomes what happens to James. He’ll be a free agent this offseason after the Lakers declined to give him the new contract he was looking for last summer. Even at 41, he remains one of the best players in the league. He could opt to take a pay cut and stay in L.A. He could sign on with a different team that might offer a better chance at one last ring. Or he could decide it’s been real and call it a career.

That last option seems unlikely. Tough to envision James retiring without announcing his intentions first and getting the season-long sendoff celebration that he has earned. If he sticks around, maybe we’ll get one more LeBron-KD postseason matchup before it’s all over. Either way, with eight years passing since the last time they faced each other in the playoffs, at least we got this one.