Kevin Durant has been one of the NBA’s biggest matchup nightmares for over a decade.
He just named the five players who are toughest for him to guard, and one of them should be no surprise.
LeBron James
Kawhi Leonard
Lou Williams
Paul George
Joel Embiid https://t.co/eethDFMCEa— Boardroom (@boardroom) January 14, 2020
Durant and LeBron James have been arguably the league’s two best forwards of the past decade. They met up in the 2012 NBA Finals, which resulted in James winning his first championship and the expectation of more head-to-head matchups in the future.
Two more took place in the 2017 and 2018 Finals, with Durant emerging victorious both times.
In 21 regular season matchups so far, James has won 15 games and Durant six. In those contests, James averaged 29.6 points, 8.5 rebounds and 7.5 assists a game.
Durant also rose to the occasion in those 21 games, putting up 29.8 points, 7.3 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game.
After rupturing his Achilles in last season’s NBA Finals, Durant, now a member of the Brooklyn Nets, is expected to return to action next season.
If Durant is even close to the player he was prior to the injury, a matchup between him and James in next season’s championship series should be a huge treat for NBA fans.
