One of the best parts about sports are the hypothetical arguments.
Who’s the NBA GOAT: Michael Jordan or LeBron James? Kareem Abdul-Jabbar scored the most points, why not him? What about 11-time champion Bill Russell or the walking bucket himself Wilt Chamberlain? Conversations like these are fun to have but when it comes to players who never faced each other on the court all we can do is speculate.
Bleacher Report attempted to take it a step forward by creating a full simulation of a one-on-one game to get to the bottom of who would win a one-on-one game between Larry Bird and Kevin Durant and it’s definitely a conversation starter.
Durant has a couple inches on Bird, but the two forwards have been unstoppable forces in the league. With 23 All-Star appearances, five championships and countless All-NBA and All-Defensive team honors combined these two certainly got it done on both ends of the court but Durant arrived in the NBA 16 years after Bird walked off the court for the final time.
Bleacher Report came away with a definitive answer on who they believe would win, although it was a razor-thin close game. I won’t spoil who Bleacher Report’s winner is, but you can watch the first episode of “The Portal” here to find out.
If I was a betting man I’d have my money on Bird. Durant obviously is the better overall scorer, but Bird averaged 24.3 points per game himself and also more than makes up for it with his defensive presence. Also Bird’s known for his trash talk on the court, may he’d throw Durant off a bit or a fight would break out.
Who knows what actually would happen, but that’s the fun of it.
