LeBron James, Kevin Durant Share Similarities With Change Of Scenery

Despite different approaches, LeBron James and Kevin Durant share many similarities in their decisions that altered the landscape of the NBA.

LeBron James and Kevin Durant. You could make the case that these players are the best of the best in the NBA.

Unique roads to fame and success. Marketable names with the ability to serve as the face of any franchise. The skills and drive that have reached legendary status.

There’s not much more to accomplish for each. They’ve both won a gold medal in the Olympics. They’ve both made multiple All-Star teams. They’ve both been part of the All-NBA First Team. They’ve both won the MVP award. They’ve both won the NBA scoring title.

They’ve both been to the NBA Finals.

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But there is one glaring difference. Championships. LeBron James has taken his team to the next level and captured three titles in his 13 years in the NBA while Kevin Durant has been to the Finals once, with no title to show for it.

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It wasn’t an easy path for James to take in order to earn his first championship. He played seven long years for the Cleveland Cavaliers. Seven years full of criticism and playoff failures, with a spotlight on his every move.

Then it happened. He had finally gone to the edge, leading his team to 66 and 61 wins in consecutive seasons from 2008-10. Though he was just 25 years of age, the burden was getting heavier every season. The failures in Cleveland brought a new level of pressure upon him.

He had to get a ring.

“The Decision” sent shockwaves through the nation as he created a new beginning of hope in one city while turning his back (according to the citizens of Cleveland) on another.

But James did what needed to be done, joining the Miami Heat and entering his prime to put up some of the greatest seasons of his career.

In the process, he managed to lead a team full of proven players and former champions to four straight Finals appearances. A loss in 2011 brought back all of his memories from Cleveland as James went cold when it counted, but it was his next trip in 2012 that made all the difference.

Against a budding Oklahoma City Thunder team with league dominance in their future, James asserted himself on the NBA’s biggest stage and finally broke through to gain that first title that had eluded him for nearly 10 years.

He went on to do it again in spectacular fashion against the San Antonio Spurs, praised as one of the NBA’s classiest, well-structured franchises.

But let’s switch gears back to Kevin Durant.

The explosive forward from the University of Texas was drafted as a member of the Seattle SuperSonics just a year before a huge transitional phase.

Moving from Seattle to Oklahoma City is not exactly the change one would want to pursue, but it was the one that proved to be right for Durant and his career.

After the franchise drafted his future superstar teammate in Russell Westbrook, the rise began. With fans hungry for professional sports in the state of Oklahoma, the team and players became big hits, drawing some of the loudest, most loyal fans in the entire league.

They witnessed a leap not seen often as the duo of Durant and Westbrook went from 23 wins in their first season together to 50 in their second–enough to earn the first playoff berth the organization had seen in four seasons.

Throughout the next six seasons, the Thunder would reach the playoffs five out of six years, making it to the conference semifinals even year, going to the Western Conference Finals four times and earning a trip to the Finals once (2012).

It was understandable for them to fail early on, as excuses like injuries, development or lack of bench talent were common topics, but 2015-16 seemed like a different season.

For the first time since 2012-13, the duo of Durant and Westbrook avoided major injuries, leading to a 55-27 record and a third seed in the West.

After taking care of the Dallas Mavericks in the first round, the real challenge began. At 67-15, the San Antonio Spurs were tied for the seventh-best record in NBA history and had lost just one home game the entire season.

The stunning upset over the Spurs led to a date with the greatest regular season team in NBA history–the 73-9 Golden State Warriors.

In what was the biggest test of Durant’s career and he succeeded … at first. With wins in Games 1, 3 and 4, he had led his team to the brink of an emotional series victory. One that would be remembered for year’s to come in Oklahoma City.

Then the wheels flew off. Game 5 turned into a loss. Game 6 saw OKC hold a lead until the final minutes of play and Game 7 ended an absolutely crushing series defeat. One that would be remembered for all the wrong reasons and one of the defining moments of Durant’s career.

He had finally positioned his team to get back to the place he had strived for his entire career, but just couldn’t close when he needed to, something the entire OKC team has struggled with in their contending years.

Then came the summer. Durant was an unrestricted free agent for the first time in his career and was looking forward to taking in the process.

With strong recruiting pitches from intriguing teams like the Los Angeles Clippers and Boston Celtics, Durant narrowed his choices down to two teams: the Thunder, who had given him a chance to shine in the NBA and the Warriors, a legendary team that had just crushed the hearts of his entire squad.

Durant knew the consequences of leaving. He knew that he would be leaving the security of the city that embraced him for so many years but he also knew that he had an easier path to the title with a team destined to create a dynasty.

That’s when he stepped out of his comfort zone and abandoned everything he had built with the team that drafted him.

While he was ultimately heading to a better destination with more stars and a brighter future, he was attacked for his unwillingness to finish the job with the team he had led for so many seasons.

Sound familiar?

Whether it was viewed as the “easy way out” or a career-changing move, it’s the decision that LeBron James made in 2010 and the same one that Kevin Durant made in 2016.

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You’ll be hated for what you do, even if it looks like the obvious choice for the future.

So what happens next for Durant?

For James, the decision to switch teams proved to be legacy-changing. He climbed the mountain to ultimate NBA achievement by defeating the odds and now Durant has the chance to do the same.

As he chases his first NBA championship, just like LeBron did when he made his move, Durant will always be reminded of what could’ve been had he stayed for one more year and tested free agency with his buddy Russell Westbrook in 2017.

Stephen A. Smith of ESPN, describes the change as “the weakest move [he’s] ever seen from a superstar” simply because it flips more power to the top of the NBA and because Durant was already on a team with another superstar, unlike James in 2010.

But what if it’s not? What if this is exactly what Durant needs? What if his path runs similar to James’ and he simply needs a little time away from his original franchise to go win a ring with a better team?

Call it cowardly, but if you’re about to hit your prime and you have the chance to join arguably one of the greatest cores in NBA history, you do that 10 out of 10 times, no matter the backlash.

Sure, LeBron’s decision was a little over the top with a special television segment and, sure he wasn’t leaving a superstar behind to join a team that he had just nearly beaten the previous season, but it just feels like his decision is reminiscent of what we just saw.

Years of pressure piling on to become the best there is and striving to acquire the NBA’s top prize followed by failure after failure. In some cases a new situation is necessary to fulfill the needs that another situation seemed to lack.

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So as we embark on another NBA season that is set to bring even more drama, even more intensity and even more story lines than ever before, remember the day that Kevin Durant made a bold move to leave a comfortable situation and join one where he would face scrutiny and a level of pressure we haven’t seen in recent seasons.

Remember the day when the landscape of the NBA was changed with the choice to pursue greatness.