For the first time in almost five years, longtime rivals LeBron James and Kevin Durant will face-off in a regular season game Thursday night. The last time the two all-time greats dueled it out, it was Christmas Day 2018.
During that matchup all those years ago, James suffered a groin strain in the Cavaliers’ win against Durant’s Warriors and the two have missed each other ever since in 13 possible matchups.
During the 2018–19 season, James missed out on three potential matchups with Durant because of the groin strain, load management and rest. Durant missed the entire 2019–20 season while rehabbing his torn Achilles. And in the 2020–21 season, the two missed each other on two occasions because James was dealing with an ankle injury and Durant had a hamstring issue.
