Basketball On The Internet.

NO basketball rivalry/friendship will ever come close to the famed Bird-Magic hate-love relationship which played out from 1979-1992 but King James and the Durantula definitely are on course for a good one of their own.

No, it doesn't have its roots back in an NCAA Final, where in 1979 Earvin "Magic" Johnson's Michigan State beat Larry Bird's Indiana State in the most watched college basketball game of all time.

LeBron James skipped right by college so such comparisons are immediately off the table, even if Kevin Durant was college player of the year in 2007, as Bird had been 28 years earlier.

And for Johnson to go to the Showtime of the Los Angeles Lakers while Bird to the traditional values of the Boston Celtics - the NBA's two most storied and contrasting franchises - only further added to what would be a burgeoning and career-defining rivalry.

That they finished as the closest of friends and as members of the 1992 USA Dream Team which swept through the Barcelona Olympic Games in 1992, belies the intensity of their on-court warfare across a decade and more.

Pencil in that James and Durant were teammates in London as the USA swept to the Gold Medal and were (erroneously) compared to the incomparable Dream Team.

"I would be waiting for the paper in the morning so I could check the boxscores to see what he did the night before," Magic said of his personal battle with the Birdman.

"I was doing the same thing on the other side of the country," Bird admitted.

They inspired each other to greater heights to the extent their careers will forever be entwined, just as Borg-McEnroe, Ali-Frazier or Navratilova-Evert.

That is extremely unlikely to be the case with James-Durant, both having independently carved their own niches in the NBA world.

And while Miami Heat and Oklahoma City Thunder assuredly lack the lustre of a Lakers-Celtics championship showdown, there they were last season, battling for the ultimate prize in pro basketball.

They are watching each other now, too, of that there is no doubt.

Just days ago, with the scores tied 90-90 as the Lakers hosted the Heat, it was LeBron who simply elevated his game as Miami went on the decisive 9-0 run to set up the 99-90 victory.

King James had 39 points and was very clearly a class above the mortals on the floor.

"In a town full of superstars and celebrities, last night @KingJames was the biggest star in LA!" Magic tweeted after the game.

No-one who watched the game would dispute it for a millisecond.

Kevin Durant watched the game.

The following evening at Dallas, he went for a career-high 52 points as OKC beat the Mavericks 117-114 in overtime. And post-game, he was unhappy with how poorly he had shot through stages of the contest, the unassuming superstar scolding himself for a run where he missed eight straight shots!

"KD got a cannon!!" James tweeted as that game concluded.

Unaware of each other?

Considering Durant has spent a week these past two summers working out with James, that would be unlikely.

"I think you should sit back and enjoy him," Bird told Bill Simmons when asked about the scrutiny to which James has been subjected. "I think he's one of the greatest to play our game.

"As far as playing basketball, you've got to enjoy this guy. If you're a basketball fan, you've got to sit back and go wow, how'd he do that?

"I always wish I'd had his speed but some of the stuff that kid does out there ... LeBron James is by far our best player in this league.

"I don't think there is anyone there next to him. I think he's there, then you just go down the list."

Now someone should ask Magic about Durant...