It wasn’t a regular-season game, and the two weren’t on the court for long, but LeBron James and Kevin Durant squared off for the first time in almost five years Thursday.
The Los Angeles Lakers and Phoenix Suns ended the preseason Thursday in a matchup in Palm Springs, California. While the game didn’t mean much in the end and the Suns cruised to a dominant 123-100 win, it was exciting for fans who’d been missing the Durant-James matchup for years now.
James and Durant last shared the court in 2018, when James and the Lakers beat Durant and the Golden State Warriors on Christmas Day. While their teams have battled multiple times since, either James or Durant have been hurt and missed the game.
“It’s just two iconic figures in the game of basketball today, and they’ll forever be two iconic figures in the game of basketball,” said Suns coach Frank Vogel, who coached James in Los Angeles before landing in Phoenix, via NBA reporter Mark Medina.
“They’ve basically dominated this generation in different ways, so it has been something the fans have missed out — it’s been that long since they’ve shared the court together. I’m excited to see them out there today.”
The game itself didn’t provide too many major moments between the two stars. Durant played just 17 minutes, though he put up a team-high 21 points after shooting 8-of-14 from the field. James played a little longer, but not by much. He dropped a team-high 19 points and six rebounds in 22 minutes in the loss for the Lakers.
Durant did, however, hit an easy 3-pointer over James just before halftime at Acrisure Arena.
To make James’ first half even worse, he somehow took a poke to both eyes simultaneously.
After the Lakers held a four-point lead at the break, the Suns outscored them by 20 points in the third quarter and rolled to their fourth win this preseason without any issue. Saben Lee added 15 points off the bench, and Yuta Watanabe finished with 12 points. The Suns sat both Devin Booker and Bradley Beal for the preseason finale.
Anthony Davis added 15 points for the Lakers, and Austin Reaves had 14 points off three 3-pointers. The Lakers went just 2-4 in the preseason.
Thankfully, Thursday’s game is just a teaser. The Lakers and the Suns will play again next Thursday at Cyrpto.com Arena in Los Angeles, which should mark the first true matchup between James and Durant since Christmas Day five years ago.
That one, with full rosters available and the regular season underway, will be much more meaningful.
