The audio of an exchange between LeBron James and Kevin Durant during the 2017 NBA Finals — when the former was a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers and the latter a member of the Golden State Warriors — was recently leaked.
LEAKED Audio Of The LeBron James & Kevin Durant Trash Talk In The 2017 Finals👀:
KD: “Aye, watch that sh*t. He hit me in the head” (also chirped at Ty Lue)
LeBron: “Why are you talking crazy though? Don’t talk to my coach like that again”
KD: “I wasn’t talking to nobody crazy” pic.twitter.com/0LwttuOdkl
— LegendZ (@legendz_nba) October 5, 2023
Durant, Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and the Warriors went on to eliminate James, Kyrie Irving and the Cavaliers in five games in the championship series to win the 2017 title.
Durant was selected with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2007 NBA Draft and has played for four teams — the Oklahoma City Thunder, Warriors, Brooklyn Nets and Phoenix Suns — across his 15 seasons in the NBA.
He averaged 29.1 points, 6.7 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game in 47 games played with the Nets and Suns during the 2022-23 regular season. The 6-foot-10 forward also shot the ball with excellent efficiency from the field, seeing as how he converted 56.0 percent of his field-goal attempts and 40.4 percent of his three-point attempts.
Those numbers earned Durant the 13th All-Star appearance of his pro career.
Meanwhile, James was selected by the Cavaliers with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2003 NBA Draft and has played for three teams — the Cavaliers, Los Angeles Lakers and Miami Heat — across his 20 seasons in the NBA. He averaged 28.9 points, 8.3 rebounds and 6.8 assists per game in 55 appearances with the storied Lakers franchise during the 2022-23 regular season.
While James performed at a high level in all three of the Lakers’ series during the 2023 playoffs, arguably his best series came against Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference Finals. The 38-year-old averaged 27.8 points, 9.5 rebounds and 10.0 assists per game for the series while shooting 51.9 percent from the field.
Despite James’ heroics, however, the Nuggets made quick work of the Lakers, as they eliminated them in four games and then defeated Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo and the Heat in the 2023 NBA Finals in five games.
Here’s to hoping that NBA fans will be able to witness Durant and James play against each other in the playoffs again in 2024. After all, they are two of the most talented and accomplished forwards of their generation.
