LeBron James’ Lakers earned a hard-fought win over Kevin Durant’s Suns on Thursday, and the King proved it’s bigger than basketball after.
James was seen sharing a heartfelt moment with Wanda Durant after the Lakers beat the Phoenix Suns 100-95 for their first win of the new season.
It’s the second moment of its kind for LeBron James early in the NBA campaign, and he’s clearly still enjoying the camaraderie around the league in his age-38 season.
Both James and Durant were excellent on Thursday night, but it was the former who had a better showing in the fourth quarter. James scored 10 of his 21 points while playing the entire fourth, including a tiebreaking layup with 1:11 to play. The Lakers were down 12 points entering the final frame but staged a scintillating rally to defeat the Suns and earn their first win.
“Someone you just compare yourself to,” Durant said about James afterwards. “If you could accomplish and achieve some of the stuff that he’s done, you’re doing pretty solid for yourself. It’s just a baseline for yourself as a player to see how great you can be.”
Durant was phenomenal himself in the contest, finishing with 39 points and 11 rebounds while carrying a team that was missing Devin Booker and Bradley Beal in Los Angeles on Thursday.
Durant and James haven’t faced each other on an NBA court since Christmas 2018 due to various ailments including injuries, load management and the league’s health and safety protocols, and it was fantastic for basketball fans to see them on the floor together.
Although it was the Lakers who came out on top, the entire league won watching two players who have been friends since age 17 continuing to dominate two decades later.
