Heat-Thunder: The Real Scoring Difference Between LeBron and Durant

It's often said, "LeBron James is the best player and Kevin Durant is the best scorer." This is a valid way to think, but it's an opinion without nuance. 

It's correct that Durant scores more efficiently than LBJ—just barely. This season, his true shooting percentage (a field-goal percentage that takes free throws and three-pointers into account) is a wisp over LeBron's at 61 percent to 60.5 percent. 

How does Kevin Durant maintain such efficiency? You might think that KD just scores better from all over the floor, but this isn't so. On two-pointers away from the rim, Durant shot 43 percent this season on 9.7 attempts per game to LeBron's 42 percent on 9.6 attempts. Last year, James led KD in this category, 44 percent to 42 percent. Durant may be a better "shooter" than LeBron, but that case isn't made below the three-point line.

It's made beyond the three-point line, of course. This season, Durant's launching 5.2 shots per game from downtown and making .387 of them, the points equivalent of 58.1 percent on twos. LeBron shoots a respectable .362 from downtown, but launches only 2.4 times per game. For all the carping about how teams "live by the three, die by three," a well-honed deep shot is the best one in basketball.

LeBron makes up most of the difference with basketball's next best shots: He gets dunks and layups with ease. James is moving via off-the-ball screens more than he ever has before, and the result has been easy buckets. This season, James is "shooting" a ridiculous 75.4 percent on 6.6 attempts at the rim. Durant is notching a respectable 72.2 percent at the rim, but he gets there nearly two times fewer per game. 

These scorers share each others' strengths, but they lean on their absolutely strongest attributes. It can't be reduced to "LeBron drives, Kevin shoots" because both guys do both. Both can hit mid-range jumpers, drive and knock down threes. They share an equal skill level in the mid-range game. On drives and threes, the difference is as much frequency of habit as it is strength of skill

Information provided by HoopData