Nearly a decade since LeBron James and Kevin Durant had their first meeting in the NBA Finals, the superstars are arguably still the league’s two best players. With James returning to lead the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers and Durant playing his first season for a loaded Brooklyn Nets’ team, there’s a real chance they’ll go head-to-head for the title this summer.

The Lakers are the prohibitive favorites just two months after James won the fourth ring of his NBA career. Durant owns two rings, and his streak of three straight Finals appearances was snapped in 2020 as he missed all of the season with a torn Achilles.

James is in the Finals almost every year, making appearances with three different teams in nine of the last 10 seasons. Brooklyn could become the third franchise Durant has led to the Finals.

James won his first title when his Miami Heat defeated Durant’s Oklahoma City Thunder in the 2012 Finals. It was the first of three championships James would win over a five-season stretch, while Durant would have to wait longer before finally reaching the pinnacle of the sport.

Durant left Oklahoma City to join the Golden State Warriors in 2016, creating a seismic shift in the NBA landscape. The Warriors had just lost to James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Finals after winning a record 73 regular-season games. Adding Durant to a roster that already includes Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green made Golden State virtually unbeatable.

The Warriors had the most dominant run in NBA playoff history, going 16-1 en route to winning the 2017 title. Durant won the NBA Finals MVP award and repeated the feat the following season. Golden State lost to the Toronto Raptors in the 2019 Finals as injuries limited Durant to just 12 minutes in the entire series.

James was on the losing end of the Finals in both 2017 and 2018, coming up short against Durant’s Warriors with an overmatched Cavaliers’ team. It was no surprise that he bolted Cleveland for Los Angeles two years ago after dragging the Cavs’ through the East playoffs.

By leading the Lakers past the Miami Heat in the Finals in the NBA’s bubble, James took one step closer toward surpassing Michael Jordan as the greatest of all time. Jordan ended his career with six rings and a perfect 6-0 record in the Finals. James is 4-6 in the Finals, though more championships could be on the horizon.

In his 17th NBA season, James proved he was still the league’s top star. James finished second in the 2020 MVP voting before averaging 27.6 points, 10.8 rebounds and 8.8 assists per game in the postseason.

The 2014 San Antonio Spurs, 2015 Warriors and 2019 Raptors are the only championship teams in the last nine years that didn't feature James or Durant.

LeBron James Kevin Durant
LeBron James #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers speaks to Kevin Durant #35 of the Golden State Warriors during a timeout in the first half at Staples Center on April 04, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. Yong Teck Lim/Getty Images
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