When the Miami Heat beat Oklahoma City Thunder to win the 2012 NBA championship, it was clear that it wouldn't be the last time LeBron James and Kevin Durant would meet in the Finals.James was already the best player in the league but Durant was coming for that crown as he was transforming into one of the most devastating offensive players.Six years on from that meeting, the 2014 MVP may not have overtaken LeBron as the best but he has significantly closed that gap.They are unquestionably the top two players in the NBA and seeing them do battle on the biggest stage for the third time against each other is proving it.After joining the Golden State Warriors in 2016, Durant put himself in a better position to compete with his superstar counterpart from the Cleveland Cavaliers.He finally secured his first championship by overcoming his rival last year, claiming the Finals MVP award in the process.The 29-year-old is now on the verge of beating James again for his second ring as his dominant 43-point performance in Wednesday night's Game 3 put the Warriors up 3-0 in the series.

LBJ was full of praise for his fellow small forward after the game, calling him "one of the best players I’ve ever played against, that this league has ever seen.”

Ahead of Friday night's Game 4, the Cavs veteran spoke in more depth about his on-court rivalry with the former OKC star and how they would eventually be clashing in the Finals on a regular basis.

“I thought it would be in OKC,” James said about a potential rivalry with Durant’s team, per Fox Sports. “I thought we’d have to face them for a while. Yeah, absolutely. Who wouldn’t say that?”

“Kevin Durant was great at 23. Obviously, as you get older and older, your game gets more seasoned, but everyone knew that’s Kevin Durant. It’s not like you’d think that he would fizzle out.”

Despite being on the verge of a sweep in the Finals for the second time in his career, the three-time champion was in a jovial mood and drew laughter from the assembled press with a subtle dig at the Portland Trail Blazers while he continued to laud Durant.

“You knew he was built for greatness from the time that he was drafted,” James said. “I mean, everybody knew that besides Portland, I guess. Sorry, Portland. Sorry.”

He is, of course, referring to the fact that the Blazers chose to draft Greg Oden with the number one pick ahead of KD in the 2007 draft.

Oden was a huge prospect but his career was cruelly ruined by injury while Durant has developed into a Hall of Fame player.

It's definitely a moment that everybody associated with Portland regrets and they definitely wouldn't have appreciated being reminded of it.

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