Getty LeBron James with Kevin Durant.
Despite being one of the most famous people on the planet, Kevin Durant loves to take time out of his day to clap back at people online. Fox Sports analyst Skip Bayless is a big supporter of Durant’s and believes that he’s currently the best player in the NBA over LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo. However, Bayless is perhaps the most famous LeBron-hater in all of sports media.
The Brooklyn Nets have recently been ravaged by COVID-19 but that didn’t stop Durant from leading the team to an overtime win over the Toronto Raptors. After the win, Bayless praised Durant as the “best player on the planet” and took a shot at the Los Angeles Lakers star by asking him if he’d watched the game.
Even though he was the subject of praise, Durant replied to Bayless by simply saying, “I really don’t like u.”
Needless to say, fans had a field day over the tweet online as Durant has received over 340,000 likes on it. Not even those who praise the star forward are safe from his wrath.
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Do LeBron & Durant Have a Rivalry?
Over the years, LeBron and Durant have been widely considered the two best players in the NBA when healthy. The two have battled in the NBA Finals on three separate occasions with Durant winning two of three. There’s definitely a bit of a rivalry between them.
However, it appears to be mostly a friendly rivalry. In fact, Durant has gone out of his way to defend LeBron in the past. Earlier in the year, he called out Fox Sports analyst Shannon Sharpe for “lying” about him saying he was the greatest of all time over LeBron. He’s also been guilty of the occasional shade towards the Lakers star as he liked an Instagram post from last season that made fun of LeBron’s free throw shooting ability. The two remain friendly as LeBron consistently praises Durant when he has a big game.
Will We Get Another LeBron-Durant NBA Finals?
With LeBron turning 37-years-old at the end of December, the rivalry between the two superstars could be winding down. The Lakers star has had unprecedented sustained success but he can’t play forever. This season will be one of the few remaining chances for the team to play against each other in the NBA Finals.
As of right now, the Nets appear to have a much better shot at getting to the Finals. They are currently the top seed Eastern Conference 20-8. The Lakers haven’t fared as well this season. They are 15-13, which places them as the sixth seed in the Western Conference. They have a brutal path to the NBA Finals with the Golden State Warriors and Phoenix Suns looking like powerhouses. Los Angeles has enough talent to go on a run but it looks unlikely right now. A Steph Curry-Durant matchup in the Finals is looking more likely right now.
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