The old guard of the NBA is slowly fading away. The last bastions of the NBA during the 2010s are starting to age. Players like LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry are nearing the end of their careers. Because of that, it's always special to see two such players go up against each other. That's exactly what happened during the game between the Phoenix Suns and the Los Angeles Lakers.

LeBron James and Kevin Durant got to duke it out against each other again during the Suns-Lakers game. The two stars did not disappoint, with Durant dropping 39 points, nine rebounds, and seven assists. LeBron, on the other hand, had 32 points, 11 rebounds, and six assists. In the end, it was LeBron's Lakers that took the game, improving to 4-5 for the season.

After the game, LeBron James gave his flowers to Kevin Durant. The Lakers star said that it was always a treat to match up against the former MVP. Here's the full quote, from ClutchPoints' X account.

Lakers' LeBron James: “We both have made our mark in the history of this game… One of the best basketball players to ever play this game and it’s always an honor to go against him.”

LeBron and KD are both in many people's top 10 players of all-time, and for good reason. LeBron is inarguable: the Lakers star has always been fighting with Michael Jordan for the NBA GOAT status. Durant, meanwhile, has the rings and the accolades to cement himself as a top-10 star.

We've seen the two stars go head-to-head against each other before. Their first high-profile matchup was in the 2012 Finals, when Durant's Thunder went up against James' heat. Most recently, LeBron and KD faced off when the Suns faced the Lakers in the first round of the 2021 playoffs, where Phoenix won.

With LeBron nearing the end of his career and KD likely close by, we're running out of times where we'll see the two duke it out. The Suns and the Lakers do have more meetings ahead of them by virtue of being division rivals. We're looking forward to see more high-energy battles between the two stars.