LeBron James: Rivalry with Kevin Durant Shouldn't Be Compared to Bird vs. Magic

The 2012 NBA Finals have been an epic showdown between the two best players in the league.

This battle between LeBron James and Kevin Durant is the best matchup that we have seen in the NBA Finals in quite some time, but it is far too early to compare the rivalry to that of Magic Johnson and Larry Bird's.

It's fun to throw around ideas and imagine what could become of the James vs. Durant series in the future, but to put this rivalry aside Magic and Bird's is pure blasphemy.

The main difference between the two is that Magic and Bird's rivalry saved the NBA. The league was losing its fanbase by the time the mid-1980s rolled around, and Magic and Bird revitalized it. 

Durant and James are meeting in the NBA Finals at a time when national and worldwide interest in the NBA is arguably as high as it has been since the "Dream Team" ran roughshod in the '92 Summer Olympics.

What made the Bird/Magic rivalry so great was the storied tradition that the Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers had and still have. The Oklahoma City Thunder and Miami Heat don't have that type of tradition.

The team formerly known as the Seattle SuperSonics came to Oklahoma City in 2008. The Heat were founded in 1988, less than 25 years ago.

Both teams are a far cry from the 17-championship Celtics and the 16-championship Lakers. 

There's far less hatred between the two teams than there was between Bird's Celtics and Magic's Lakers. Nobody is clothes-lining their opponent like Kevin McHale did to Kurt Rambis. Nobody is going after Chris Bosh like Bird went after Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Russell Wesbrook isn't throwing up the choke sign to Dwyane Wade when he misses a free throw like Cedric Maxwell did to James Worthy.

The worst we've seen in this series so far is James calling Serge Ibaka's comments "stupid." (Oh, no. Not "stupid." You just got burned Ibaka.)

But, hey, that was the '80s NBA. A lot has changed since then.

The first time Magic and Bird met in the NBA Finals in 1984, they were sharing the court with seven other Hall of Famers alongside them. There aren't nine players on the Thunder and Heat who are going to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.

Durant didn't call his teammates sissies like Bird did after the Celtics went down 2-1 in the '84 finals. In fact, KD hasn't said much of anything.

Not to mention the Bird-led Celtics met Magic's Lakers in the league finals three times in four years. Their teams were the cream of the crop in the league for that stretch of time, something the Thunder and Heat still need to prove.

For this rivalry to reach Bird-Magic heights, there needs to be more intensity and fire on both sides.

While it might make sense to compare the two rivalries one day, let's wait until these guys meet at least one more time in the NBA Finals.