Kevin Durant channeling Jordan as he chases LeBron

Each has what the other one wants. The goal for James is to play with Durant's energy in May and June. The goal for Durant is to understand, first-hand, how

Ian Thomsen | Jan 29, 2014

Kevin Durant channeling Jordan as he chases LeBron /

Kevin Durant has scored at least 30 points in 11 straight games, the NBA's longest streak since 2003. — Kevin Durant has scored at least 30 points in 11 straight games, the NBA's longest streak since 2003 :: McClatchy-Tribune/Getty Images

Each has what the other one wants. The goal for James is to play with Durant's energy in May and June. The goal for Durant is to understand, first-hand, how hard it is to not merely win the championship, but more so to be the champion: To stand your ground and hold off a world of challengers.

Published Jan 29, 2014

IAN THOMSEN

Senior Writer, Sports Illustrated Sports Illustrated Senior Writer Ian Thomsen, who joined the magazine in 1998, is one of SI's top basketball scribes. Along with writing columns and features for SI, Thomsen is a frequent contributor to SI.com. Before joining SI, Thomsen spent six years in Europe as the sports columnist for the International Herald Tribune, the world's largest international English-language daily. While at the paper Thomsen wrote about an array of sports for a global audience, including the major world and European soccer tournaments, the 1995 Rugby World Cup, Olympic Games, Ryder Cups, Grand Slam tennis events, Grand Prix auto races and, very rarely, cricket. Thomsen, who graduated from Northwestern with a journalism degree in 1983, was a feature writer for The National Sports Daily during its short, expensive run of 1990-91. His first job was with The Boston Globe, where he covered Doug Flutie's Boston College Eagles and all three of the Celtics-Lakers NBA Finals of the 1980s. Thomsen was a feature writer at SI before taking on the NBA beat fulltime in 2000. With Luis Fernando Llosa and Melissa Segura, Thomsen covered the 2001 scandal of overaged Little League pitcher Danny Almonte and wrote the first SI cover story on Kobe Bryant in 1998. Thomsen lives with his wife and two children near Boston.