Re: Does LeBron vs. Durant resemble Magic vs. Bird at all?
Even if a situation occurs where they take turns besting each other on-court, it really won't have the same historical significance. The Bird-Magic rivalry brought the NBA into the national spotlight. Not only that, but they were polar opposites in a way, black against white, Magic representing the glitz and glamour of hollywood while Bird represented the average joe lower-middle class, that added to the appeal of the rivalry along with playing for the NBA's most heralded franchises.
Plus oncourt Bird and Magic hated each other, but respected at the same time. Durant and Lebron, by contrast, spend their summers working out together. Totally different dynamics at play, which is why to this day the Bird and Magic rivalry is the most important in nba history, perhaps rivaled only by Wilt-Russell but those two didn't battle in the national spotlight like Magic and Bird did.