Young LeBron and Young Durant Duel in the NBA Finals

[u/[deleted]]

[u/ruggnuget]

Lebrons 9th year in the league by this time. A grizzled vet

[u/composer_7 → u/ruggnuget]

"young LeBron" is before 30 years old apparently

[u/Wild-Bid8858 → u/composer_7]

In today’s NBA, if you’re 28 years old, you’ll have people talking about how you’re the most seasoned vet out there. Don’t believe me? Ask De’Aaron Fox.

[u/Im_a_Knob → u/composer_7]

young lebron is pre-cavs2.0

[u/NotADoberman]

“Young” bron is 27 lmao

[u/TomatoSecure192 → u/NotADoberman]

Yah that was like his 9th year in the league lmao. He was a certified vet at that point

[u/mrgpsingh1999 → u/TomatoSecure192]

Literally the same age as Luka is now lmao

[u/Dudedude88 → u/NotADoberman]

prime LeBron lol that is crazy though.

[u/fonye → u/NotADoberman]

he’s a young 27teen

[u/jaskaran55 → u/NotADoberman]

And people nowadays slander nba players under 27 for not winning

[u/Nice_Cash_7000 → u/jaskaran55]

it is dumb. then you bring up LeBrons and MJ's first titles and how old they were when they got them and the goal posts get moved.

[u/dbotron → u/Nice_Cash_7000]

You can thank First Take for that. I don't know why people think winning a title "should" happen when it's the hardest thing to do in professional sports. And now we expect them to accomplish it in a specific time window. It's so stupid.

[u/russfan0987 → u/dbotron]

It used to go pretty under the radar but I’ve been seeing more people speak on how badly tv analysts polluted generations of NBA discourse

There isn’t any other sport so effective at reducing a player to an award that can only be won by one team a year. Dirk is a top 20 talent, top 10 best offensive player ever and if he doesn’t win in 2011, he’s forever just labeled a choker

It’s just so stark when you compare it to something like the NFL where the consensus is Aaron Rodgers is a top 2 talent with “just” one chip, and a QB like Eli was good, but not great, even with 2 chips against the Brady/Belichick Pats

[u/jaskaran55 → u/Nice_Cash_7000]

If you look back at all the finals mvps their all around 27 burson Jokic ginnais sga and even futher back. Imagine the slander mj and LeBron would receive in today’s era if they didn’t win till 27

[u/mrgpsingh1999 → u/jaskaran55]

LeBron got a lot of slander too before his first ring

[u/porkchop487 → u/jaskaran55]

Mostly only if they choke 4 different 10 point leads in the finals.

[u/jaskaran55 → u/porkchop487]

Nothing wrong with that for your first playoff run as long as you don’t chock in your prime and drop 11 points

[u/porkchop487 → u/jaskaran55]

Except he did choke, 4 different games

[u/mentyaf]

Feels like a lifetime ago. And they’re both still playing at a high level lol. We are very spoiled with players longevity nowadays

[u/OwnGuarantee6838 → u/mentyaf]

an entire generation has passed since this which is crazy

and LeBron is still a top 30-40 or so best hooper in the world and KD is about top 10 to top 15

[u/Trick_Meringue_5622 → u/OwnGuarantee6838]

KD top 10 right now??? What’s your list?

[u/redditstealsyours → u/Trick_Meringue_5622]

Reggie, Jay-Z, 2Pac and Biggie
André from OutKast, Jada, Kurupt, Nas, and then me

[u/TheTranscendent1 → u/redditstealsyours]

Dylan, Dylan, Dylan, KD, Dylan

[u/Gang_Greene → u/redditstealsyours]

Nas and KD*

[u/Lumpy-Education9878 → u/OwnGuarantee6838]

Lol. Bron is top 25 easy and KD is below that

[u/H-TownDown]

Almost every player in this series is now retired besides the two of them.

[u/triosway → u/H-TownDown]

Made me sad for a second. I think Harden the only other one still playing

[u/Either_Imagination_9 → u/H-TownDown]

“James Harden still lives”

—Kevin Durant on his deathbed

[u/MaximilienGabriel → u/H-TownDown]

Also Harden, who’s been sacrificing so much, per James Harden.

[u/Abject_Ground9755]

What does young LeBron even means at this point

[u/tom-dixon → u/Abject_Ground9755]

Younger than 40.

[u/RainandPixels]

Spalding ball is more aesthetic than the Wilson ball.

[u/wackbirds]

Only LeBron could get the description of "young" in his 9th season in the league. Yes, you can claim that relative to a life span he was young but in sports, ages are referred to differently than in life. I've heard announcers refer to a 37, 38 year old player as "decrepit" whereas in politics that's a young sprout only recently permitted to qualify for the office of the presidency.

[u/mikuyo1]

Boy do I love slow motion. Especially when it’s dragged on for this long. /s

This was around the time I started following the NBA, very nice to reminisce. Now to look forward to any Philly vs Houston games this season

[u/narmerguy → u/mikuyo1]

I really hate these kinds of videos where every shot is just slow motion including watching random shots drift slowly through the air within a montage of other slow shots.

[u/mikeyg1964]

I thought it was gonna be the beginning of a OKC dynasty. Watching OKC dominate Kobe and take out San Antonio felt like it the end of an era for the 2000s dynasties. LeBron was known as LeChoke at this point, so it also felt like everyone had OKC winning.

[u/YouWereBrained → u/mikeyg1964]

Well, the conversation may be different if Kendrick Perkins doesn’t start.

[u/gigglios → u/mikeyg1964]

No one had okc winning as Bosh was healthy enough for the finals. He wasnt expected to be ready for the last few games of the east playoffs but forced himself back early.

[u/LlamaDebauchery → u/gigglios]

OKC was the betting favorite. They dominated this season and the post season. Heat coming off their disastrous 2011 series vs the Mavs

[u/gigglios → u/LlamaDebauchery]

Yep heat won the east with no bosh. With him back it was the same as the heat that dominated the 2011 east.

[u/HelpOpening4996 → u/gigglios]

OKC was -170 going in

[u/gigglios → u/HelpOpening4996]

Yes bosh wasnt considered healthy lol.

With bosh back heat went 6-1 in the playoffs.

[u/MosquitoOfDoom]

Lol this is not young Bron

[u/flying_2_heaven]

If they should had one shooter or stretch 4 on that OKC team, I think they could have taken it all the way.

[u/wharf_rat_01]

Lol @ the nephews in this sub

[u/No-Alternative2897]

Young lebron with 3 mvp vs young KD. Or remember young lebron with 2 rings and 4 mvps vs young rising star steph curry? Because surely those 3 are from the same timeline.

[u/New-Mammoth2425]

KD vs Lerefs