Best One-on-One NBA Star Duels of the Season
Kobe Bryant and LeBron James went head-to-head on Thursday night, mercilessly attacking everyone and anyone—including each other. The end result was an instant regular-season classic that saw James' Cleveland Cavaliers edge out Bryant's Los Angeles Lakers.
Naturally, we at Bleacher Report started wondering how many other noteworthy one-on-one star duels there have been this season. As it turns out, there have been quite a few.
Now it's time to narrow down the best of the best.
In doing so, we will disregard the importance of positional battles. They will dominate the discussion, but this is not strictly a center vs. center, point guard vs. point guard party.
Above all else, we're interested in big names putting up big numbers against other big names. Matchups that were won by more than 10 points will be removed from consideration. Gravity of the matchups will also matter. If a rising star proved his mettle against a more established or even ebbing star, the context of that court clash (today vs. yesterday) counts.
Equally important, remember that there is no definitive way to quantify the NBA's best superstar matchups. This topic is largely subjective and open for interpretation. Just because you consider Mo Williams vs. C.J. Watson to be the greatest individual matchup of all time and I don't, that doesn't technically mean you're wrong.
Enough with the technicalities, though. It's fun-having, deep-box-score-diving time.
Kobe Bryant vs. LeBron James: Jan. 15, 2015
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Might as well start with the inspiration for this shindig.
Bryant and James will never meet in the NBA Finals, which is sad. They have spent their entire careers in separate conferences, only squaring off a total of 20 times since 2003. And with a 36-year-old Bryant speeding toward retirement, Thursday night's duel was one of the last chances we'll have to watch both all-time greats wage battle.
Good thing their latest sparring—their first since February 2013—was a doozy.
James exploded for 36 points, five assists, five rebounds and two steals in the Cavaliers' 109-102 victory over the Lakers. But his performance, while monstrous, isn't what really made this a classic.
The aforementioned stat line is semi-typical for James; he's gone for at least 36 points, five rebounds, five assists and two steals 60 times in his career. (Related: Holy crap.)
Still, Bryant's efforts turned this matchup into something special. Not only were his 17 assists a career high, but he became just the sixth player in the last five years to record at least 19 points, 17 dimes and six rebounds in a single game.
"To be on the same court with him, someone I looked up to when I was a child growing up and seeing him go straight from high school to the NBA, it’s fun. It’s great," James said afterward, via USA Today's Sam Amick. "I hated him being out of the league last year because of injury. It’s fun having him back.”
Performances like these from Bryant, on a big stage, against other superstars, are not to be devalued. He's already showing signs of slowing, and he plays for one of the worst Lakers teams ever. His ability to keep pace with a sprier James—even if only for one night—is something that should be etched into our basketball memories forever.
Dwyane Wade vs. LeBron James: Dec. 25, 2014
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Any and all reminders that Dwyane Wade is still good at this whole basketball thing are always awesome. But when such reminders are combined with James' return to Miami, that's the kind of stuff inevitable nostalgia is derived from.
Wade's Miami Heat took it to James' Cavaliers on Christmas Day, pulling out a 101-91 victory in front of their home crowd. An almost 33-year-old Wade went circa 2008 in the process, tallying 31 points, five rebounds, five assists, two steals and one block. It's just the third time he's done that in a single game since 2011.
Not to be outdone on an individual scale, James notched 30 points, eight assists and four rebounds. It just wasn't enough to carry his current team past the one he left behind.
"Couple of the best in this generation. Spectacular," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said of the Wade-James matchup, per The Associated Press via Fox Sports. "I wish I could sit back and enjoy it like a fan, because it's just fantastic basketball...However long these two guys play, you'll get your money's worth."
These head-to-head slugfests are one of the benefits of James returning to Cleveland. This marked the first time he and Wade suited up as (regular-season) opponents in almost four years. So while it was great watching them wreak havoc on opposing defenses together, it's equally fantastic seeing them try to transcend each other.
Here's hoping Father Time allows this to be the first of many more tussles.
Russell Westbrook vs. Damian Lillard: Dec. 23, 2014
3 of 10Damian Lillard is fairly new to megastardom, so any matchup against one of the NBA's top point guards acts as a relevant measuring stick. Against Russell Westbrook, he measured up. And that's saying something, because Westbrook set the bar incredibly high.
With no Kevin Durant to lean on, the Oklahoma City Thunder milked Westbrook to the tune of 40 points, 10 rebounds, six assists and three steals. It was the first and only time Westbrook hit said benchmarks in the same game.
Somehow, Lillard managed to one-up his counterpart, torching Oklahoma City's defense for 40 points, 11 assists, six rebounds and two steals of his own. Only four other players have eclipsed those single-game touchstones before their 25th birthday (since 1985): Tracy McGrady, Kenny Anderson, Clyde Drexler and James.
Since joining those elite ranks clearly wasn't enough, Lillard came off a LaMarcus Aldridge screen to drill a game-tying three-pointer with three seconds remaining, first-round-of-the-playoffs style. The Portland Trail Blazers would win in overtime, extra play that included Aldridge and Serge Ibaka being ejected and Westbrook fouling out.
"Every time we get in a situation like that I try to find a spot on the floor where I feel like I can get to for sure," Lillard explained then, per The Associated Press (via USA Today), "and tonight was just another one of those times."
Just another shining moment for a legend-in-training.
Stephen Curry vs. Russell Westbrook: Dec. 18, 2014
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By the end of the Golden State Warriors' come-from-behind 114-109 victory over the Thunder, Westbrook could only relay the most frequently used Stephen Curry-ism.
"When he gets going," he said, per The Associated Press, via ESPN.com, "ain't too much anybody can do."
Losing Durant to a sprained ankle midway through the game hurt the Thunder without question. But Curry hurt them more. He hit one mesmerizing shot after another, finishing with 34 points, nine assists, seven rebounds and four steals. Just three other players have matched or exceeded those single-game totals since 2008: James, Wade and Westbrook.
Speaking of Westbrook, he had a monster game himself while chasing Currying around, going for 33 points, eight assists, three rebounds and two steals. He even swapped go-ahead buckets with Golden State's point man in the waning minutes. It just wasn't enough.
When Curry gets going like he did after the first quarter (12-of-20 shooting), nothing is.
Anthony Davis vs. Kobe Bryant: Nov. 12, 2014
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Old School, meet New School. His actual name is Anthony Davis, and he's the basketball player you create in NBA 2k using illegally obtained cheat codes.
Ergo, he's really good.
Which is why Bryant broke out his Sunday best for Davis and the New Orleans Pelicans in this one. He wasn't especially efficient—normally the case these days—but he played the part of a hungry superstar, laying down 33 points, four rebounds, five assists and one steal.
Like usual, though, Davis made this all about him, going for 25 points, 12 rebounds, one steal and six blocks. Amazingly, he's done that four times before. Even more amazingly, he's only 21.
"AD's outrageous," Bryant admitted the night before tipoff, per Laker Nation's Serena Winters. "It's going to be fun to see it up close."
There was something almost sad about seeing Bryant play above-average basketball and still lose (109-102). No matter what Bryant did, Davis had answers. Having watched this particular tilt wire-to-wire, I can attest there were moments Bryant and his teammates shamelessly stopped in awe.
This, of course, isn't surprising.
Davis is, in fact, that good.
Tim Duncan vs. Marc Gasol: Dec. 17, 2014
6 of 10Multiple bank-shot buzzer-beaters alert.
Marc Gasol and the Memphis Grizzlies were leading their division rival San Antonio Spurs by as many as 23 points in this one, a deficit that mattered very little in the end. The Spurs clawed their way back into the game, grinding out points, generating stops and regaining the lead.
“I thought they squeezed every bit of blood out of a rock that they could,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said of his team, via the San Antonio Express-News' Jeff McDonald.
Everything came down to Gasol's Hail Mary from beyond the arc as regulation expired. He buried it off the glass—it was just the eighth three-pointer of his career at the time—and forced overtime.
But one overtime wasn't enough to solve this puzzle. Nor were two. Trailing by two with under three seconds to go, the Spurs turned to Duncan, who kissed in a game-tying buzzer-beater of his own like it was 2004 or something.
Though Memphis eked out a victory in the third overtime, the outcome was almost irrelevant. Gasol and Duncan were the real show. Big man against big man. Timeless excellence vs. youthful(ish) versatility.
Gasol left with 26 points, nine rebounds, two assists and two blocks for the fourth time in his career. Duncan, all of 38, exited with 23 points, 16 rebounds, five assists, two steals and three blocks, becoming the first player aged 38 or older to post such a line. He just kept doing amazing things.
Then again, amazing players always do.
Tim Duncan vs. LaMarcus Aldridge: Dec. 19, 2014
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What's better than one triple-overtime game? Back-to-back triple-overtime games.
Unless, of course, you're the Spurs operating on one day's rest. Then it's less than ideal. Still, that didn't prevent Duncan from going the extra distance against Portland.
Duncan went for 32 points, 10 rebounds, three assists, two steals and four blocks in 43 minutes—the kind of court time that can give Popovich a coronary on the sidelines. No one on the wrong side of 38 has done that since 1985; Karl Malone and Artis Gilmore are the only other ones to do so after turning 35.
"Timmy in particular was a 'Back to the Future' type of deal," Popovich said, per The Associated Press, via ESPN.com. "He was amazing."
Amazing, though, wasn't enough once again. Not on this night, when Duncan found himself fending off another superstud in Aldridge.
Aldridge pitched in 32 points, 16 rebounds, five steals and two blocks. The last player to accomplish that feat was Scottie Pippen in 1994. Just two others have done the same in the last 30 years: Hakeem Olajuwon and David Robinson—historic company befitting Aldridge's counterpart.
Not many 38-year-olds can go line-for-line with someone nearly 10 years their junior. Duncan is one of the few. And while this game ended in defeat, there really weren't any losers so long as everyone involved could appreciate the magnitude of what unfolded.
Derrick Rose vs. Damian Lillard: Dec. 12, 2014
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Derrick Rose has seldom played like a superstar this season. For every explosive dunk or sharply stepped jumper we celebrate, there's a halfhearted drive or botched three-pointer to lament.
That wasn't even close to the case when the Chicago Bulls played host to the Blazers. His 31 points on 14-of-24 shooting jumped off the page. This was the first time Rose topped 30 points in nearly three years, and it served as a reminder that his superstar self is still breathing.
"When he's aggressive like that, there's no one like him," Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said of Rose afterward, via the Daily Herald's Mike McGraw.
Perhaps that's true, but Lillard doesn't care. Rose and Lillard went at each other—for just the second time ever—on every possible possession. The latter would not let Rose have his own night without a fight. He dropped 35 points, six assists and five rebounds, forcing Rose to hit a series of clutch shots that would seal a Bulls victory.
And that's just what Rose did.
Bigger than the outcome, though, was this box score-filling matchup between two explosive floor generals—the first classic in what we can only hope portends many more.
Kobe Bryant vs. Kyle Lowry: Nov. 30, 2014
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Why no, this isn't your average sword fight. But that doesn't make it any less worthy of being here.
Kyle Lowry went blow-for-blow with a surprisingly spirited Bryant. Though his Toronto Raptors would fall 129-122 in overtime, Lowry hung 29 points, nine assists, six rebounds and three steals on the Lakers before fouling out.
And no, it wasn't pretty. Lowry couldn't find his touch from beyond the arc (1-of-8) and really struggled to get over or switch off the uncharacteristically high number of screens Los Angeles was setting.
Bryant's performance was cleaner. He pounded his way to a triple-double, totaling 31 points, 11 rebounds, 12 assists and one block. He also became the first player to ever eclipse 30,000 points and 6,000 assists for his career—the significance of which is not lost.
"It's a huge honor," he joked at the time, per the Los Angeles Times' Mike Bresnahan. "It means I pass more than people say."
Never mind Bryant's career landmark or that he's now the oldest player over the last 30 years to rattle off at least 31 points, 11 boards, 12 dimes and one swat in the same game. This was greatness delivered from an ebbing superstar exuding a flicker of ferocity that's in the process of being stamped out.
As Bleacher Report's Kevin Ding recently put it:
"The start of the season saw the same old in-your-face determination from the franchise that Kobe could still be Kobe. The mentality was more indignant than ever, actually, because of the way new coach Byron Scott believed, preached and grandstanded.
Now that spirit has been defeated.
Critics need not even mock Bryant's salary or shooting percentage anymore. Something greater is now out of whack, and it's not the kind of failure that's fun to argue over.
"
Dragging a body that is no longer fit to carry his heart, these are the nights worth remembering.
A flat-out duel between Bryant and a present-day All-Star—yes, Lowry's an All-Star—isn't a sight to be seen regularly anymore. We must revel in the scant few breaks from reality that Father Time gives him.
LeBron James vs. Anthony Davis: Nov. 10, 2014
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More than a head-to-head clash, this matchup between Davis' Pelicans and James' Cavaliers felt like a torch-passing—or at least the preview to a torch-passing.
James did what James does: flirt with a triple-double. He amassed 32 points, 11 rebounds, nine assists, one steal and one block. Nothing new. He's done that 10 times before. That doesn't make it any less great; it's just that his greatness is standard.
So, too, is Davis'. Considering the season he's having—he's set to become the youngest player in league history with a player efficiency rating north of 30—Davis looks likes he's gunning for James' alpha-dog status.
If that's actually what he's doing (it is), he couldn't have asked for a better outing against James himself. Davis finished with 27 points, 14 rebounds, four steals and three blocks, doing everything, anything and then some.
No other player under the age of 22 (since at least 1985) has matched that stat line while also dishing out four assists. That's the type of company Davis keeps these days: his own.
"I think he's one of the elite players right now," James said of Davis prior to the game, according to ESPN.com's Dave McMenamin. "If he continues to stay healthy like he's been doing and continues to keep growing, he can be a superstar in our league for sure."
Kind words, but not kind enough. Davis isn't going to be a superstar. He's already been one for a while.
Hopefully James has since caught up with the times, because Davis, as nights like this show, is coming for him.
*Stats courtesy of Basketball-Reference unless otherwise cited.
