The Messi-Ronaldo rivalry bears a resemblance to another rivalry, one that has taken over the NBA during the same time: Kevin Durant vs. LeBron James.
How they got to their teams
Messi and Kevin Durant share similar histories, having both spent their entire professional careers with the same team, from a young age.
Conversely, both LeBron James and Ronaldo dominated summer headlines by choosing to team up with other stars and switch teams.
Ronaldo came to Real Madrid in the summer of 2009, along with Kaka and Karim Benzema. The trio cost Real Madrid just under 200 million euros in transfer fees, and was celebrated with public unveilings before thousands at the Santiago Bernabeu. The following summer, James announced that he would "take his talents to South Beach" in a nationally televised special, joining forces with Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade to form the Miami Heat's Big Three.
Battling for scoring titles
Ronaldo leads La Liga in goals this season, with Messi trailing in third place. Kevin Durant leads the NBA in scoring, while James is in third. The similarities don't end there; Ronaldo and Messi have been two of the top five scorers in their leagues since the 2009-10 season. Durant and James have been in the top five in NBA scoring over the same time period.
Head to head
Both sets of players have similar won-loss records facing each other on their current teams. Messi has nine wins in clasico matchups, Ronaldo has five, and there have been six draws. James has nine wins and four losses against Durant since joining the Heat.
The scoring in these matchups contains more similarities. Messi and Ronaldo have each scored 12 times in their La Liga meetings, while Durant (31.3 points per game) and LeBron (28.5 PPG) have similar scoring averages in their head-to-head matchups.
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