NBA

Curry plays for the team that drafted him in 2009 and could be the last superstar to remain with the same team for his entire career. Durant, more in line with modern player movement, is with his fifth franchise. The Warriors are 8-3, winners of eight straight, and have the NBA’s second-best offense at 119 points per 100 possessions. Curry is averaging 30.6 points, 4.3 assists and 4.1 rebounds and shooting 50.3% from the field, 45.7% on 3-pointers and 98.7% on free throws. The Warriors, who won three titles in four seasons and four in eight seasons, would love one more with Curry, Draymond Green and Coach Steve Kerr.

Durant’s role remains valuable to the Rockets even if he’s not scoring as much. His 21 points per game are the lowest since his rookie season, but Durant pointed out that his presence on the court makes Houston’s offense better. The 8-3 Rockets have the third-best offense (118.5 points per 100 possessions) with Durant shooting 49.6% from the field, 35.7% on 3s and 86.4% from the foul line. He’s also averaging 6.3 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.4 blocks.

In the previous 40 matchups, 33 were regular-season games and seven came in that classic 2016 Western Conference Finals when Curry’s Warriors came back from a 3-1 deficit to beat the Thunder. In those head-to-head matchups, Durant’s teams are 24-16. Curry has averaged 25.5 points, 6.3 assists, 4.9 rebounds and 1.7 steals while shooting 47.6% from the field and 41.4% on 3-pointers. Durant has averaged 29.5 points, 8.4 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 1.4 blocks and 1.2 steals and shot 47.6% from the field and 42.3% on 3s. There have been some classics between the two, including 31 times when at least one of them has scored at least 30 points in a game.