18 years of the showdown in the league to looking up to the new king, the legend continues

Translator's note: The original text was published on ESPN, and the data in the article were as of the time of the original text (August 22 local time). The dates and times involved were all in the year

local time. "Crank That (Soulja Boy)" was the champion single on the Billboard rankings. "Saw 4" was the highest-grossing movie at the time, and the first generation of iPhones had just been released.

And Kevin Durant and LeBron James also had their first fight that year.

It was an inconspicuous preseason game in October 2007. James scored 14 points and hardly played in the second half. Durant, who was still a rookie at the time, came on as a substitute and scored 15 points, including a three-pointer in the fourth quarter, helping the Seattle Supersonics secure the victory with a 5-point advantage.

"I don't even remember," James said in 2023, "and I have always had a good memory."

Durant and James are old men, veterans, uncles, or you can use any word to describe their qualifications. They have been part of the NBA in three different decades, and through a series of milestones, they have grown together and grown old together.

They trained together in James' hometown of Akron, Ohio, in late summer, on a hillside next to James High School, while the stunned students snuck through the window.

They played a flag football game during the 2011 shutdown and were broadcast live online for free (James's team secured the victory with his last-minute interception and touchdown).

They staged one of the few memorable moments in recent years at the 2022 All-Star Game. At that time, as captains, they hilariously avoided choosing Harden in the selection process after James Harden applied to leave Durant's Nets.

In Paris last summer, they were the mainstay of the American men's basketball team, and once again won the Olympic gold medal together after winning the championship in London for a full twelve years.

Of course, they also faced opponents in three NBA Finals. In 2012, James led the Heat to defeat Durant's Thunder; in 2017 and 2018, Durant led the Warriors to defeat James' Cavaliers.

"We all feel that we should have more rings," James said during the Olympics last summer, "but it was because of each other's existence that we didn't get what we wanted."

After 18 seasons, 43 matches, 14 Finals (plus an NBA Cup quarterfinal), James and Durant are still looking for new ways to continue their rivals. And this season, this is destined to be one of the league’s main story again, as Durant will face James in his sixth different jersey, this time with the Rockets, another big deal involving one of the two players who locked in the Hall of Fame.

James will face Durant for the fourth time with a new superstar (if you count Dwyane Wade, Kyrie Irving and Anthony Davis), who will enter their first full season with Luca Doncic. Previously, Durant had never played against James and Doncic when they were playing for the Lakers at the same time.

"LeBron always emphasizes the need to focus on the most important things," Durant said during the Olympics last summer.

"I still get up at 6 a.m. to go to the training hall and want to complete 1,000 shots every day. When all kinds of distractions hit you, I still love the sport as I did. Coping with the high expectations from everyone. Putting that joy and love for the game first is what I admire. It is that love for the game that keeps me moving forward. When you see him as a teammate and how he prepares for the game, it makes me smile."

Lakers and Rockets are expected to compete for playoff spots throughout the season, and James and Durant, after so many years, are still the number one star. They will all be in the opener. They will also face off again in the Christmas game, the fifth time they have been scheduled to face off in this NBA regular season highlight.

"If you don't have that competitive flame or tension in your heart when you compete with the strongest, then I think you know that it's over by that time," James said last season. "If you can't cheer up against KD or Stephen Curry, or some other talented players in the league, you lose the meaning of the sport."

But when James and Durant start their 23rd and 19th seasons, respectively, they stand side by side again in two other completely different aspects.

In their careers, they have been recognized as leaders of super teams many times, whether it is James in the Cavaliers or the Heat, or Durant in the Warriors, Nets and the Suns (although just a brief attempt). But now, for the first time, they both looked up at the same team, and it was a stronger team.

won the championship in June and then signed Shea Gilgers Alexander, Jaylen Williams and Chet Homegren in advance with a maximum salary in July, the Thunder met this standard.

James (10 times) and Durant (4 times) have a total of 14 Finals experiences, but no matter who wants to make it to the Finals again this season, they are likely to not only defeat the other side in the playoffs, but also find a way to defeat the defending champions..

The Thunder reserves a large number of young players and lineup depth, and in many ways, their team-building is to subvert the era pioneered by James and Durant - an era that aims to build the core of the championship in a few days in July through high-profile free agent signings and heavy trades.

When Durant and James first met in 2007, Gilgers Alexander was only 9 years old. Williams is 6 years old. Homegren is 5 years old.

"We are now at a stage where some players were kids when we first entered the league, and we motivated them," Durant said last year. "And now we are playing with them." Another main line is that after the 2025-26 season, both James and Durant will face real unknowns in the future for the first time, partly because changes in team building patterns have forced their teams to circle them, and even bypass them.

James and the Lakers did not negotiate a new contract this summer, marking the first time in his career that there will be no contract or option in the coming season after James executes player options and ensures he will become a free agent in 2026. The Lakers naturally shifted their focus toward future planning from 40-year-old James to 26-year-old Doncic, who signed a highly acclaimed three-year early contract extension earlier this month.

When Durant gave the Suns a list of teams he wanted to trade with, which included the Rockets, it implied that he was willing to renew his contract there as part of the deal.

But the contract was not finalized in the June trade, and like James, he is also destined to be a full free agent next summer. Sources said the Rockets and Durant had already discussed the new contract and that the outside world believed they would reach an agreement, but they had not reached an agreement.

Like James, Durant is no longer regarded as the core, as the Rockets are building teams around the young core they have obtained through the draft. The Rockets regard Durant as the last puzzle, a veteran who can promote them to a real championship team, and they also have to handle the contracts of core players, such as Jabbarry Smith Jr. and Fred Van Villet, both of whom signed big contracts this summer. There is also 2025 All-Star Alperen Shinkyung, who signed a big contract in the summer of 2024. But there are also Amen Thompson and Tari Ethan, two young players who are also expected to receive new contracts next year.

Ultimately, if Durant wants to stay in Houston, he may need to accept a contract that is below the maximum salary, which he has been holding since 2011.

Just like James is no longer the team's footsteps, no one wants to deliberately insult these former MVPs. Both teams are just facing the reality of winning the championship team in the era of rich people.

However, before anyone starts to look back on the past, James was selected for the second team of the NBA All-Squad last season, and Durant averaged 26.6 points per game, shooting percentage reached at least 50% for the 13th consecutive season.

If James and Durant can stay healthy, they will once again have a significant impact on the direction of the new season. They didn't slow down, even though their age showed they should have been.

"I have had too many encounters with KD over the years, and we don't have many matches left," James said after the match against the Suns last winter. "We should cherish every match like this."

Author: Brian Windhorst

Translator: GWayNe