"Friends compete harder against one another" - Kevin Durant claps back at fan dissing his friendly dual with LeBron James
LeBron James and Kevin Durant competed against one another for the second time this season. The pair gave fans an entertaining round two of their highly anticipated on-court rivalry. The game saw the Lakers win 122-119, with James scoring 32 and Durant scoring 38.
While they were all business on the court and went at one another on more than one occasion with fierce play after the game, it was all respect between the two. After two hard-fought battles early on in the season, LeBron James and Kevin Durant won't have the chance to compete against one another again until January.
Based on the NBA schedule, the two all-time legends will meet up again on January 11th and one final time on February 25th. Although the two have battled it out on the court twice so far, some fans don't want to see the mutual respect post-game.
On social media, one fan called out both players, saying that mutual respect is what separates players like James and Durant from Michael Jordan. In a response, Kevin Durant explained that just because you have respect for your opponent doesn't mean you take it easy on them.
"At some point, yall non athletes gon realize that friends compete harder against one another."
LeBron James and Kevin Durant's historic 1,766-day streak without facing off with one another
This season, the LA Lakers' home opener marked the first time LeBron James and Kevin Durant had played in a whopping 1,766 days. Kevin Durant was a member of the Golden State Warriors the last time the two competed on the court prior to this season.
It ended up not only being Durant's last season with the Warriors but also the last time the two would play against James for a number of years. During the 2018–19 season, they missed one another three times, while the following season, they missed out on playing against one another twice.
The bad luck then continued during the 2020–21 season, where their respective teams clashed twice without the pair matching up. Last season was more of the same, with the pair missing out on playing one another on four separate occasions.
Fortunately, both players have been healthy for the two matches thus far this season. With plenty of time between their January and February clashes, the hope is that the pair will be in good enough shape to compete when the time comes.