When we talk about Kevin Durant, the first attribute spoken is that he's one of the best scorers in NBA history. That's definitely true as he's averaged roughly 27 points per game in his career. Durant is also a two time NBA champion and won MVP in both Finals victories. KD has also won a regular season MVP, he's an 11 time All Star and made 1st Team All Pro six times! His accolades are tremendous. He also contributes 7 rebounds and a little over 4 assists per game on average.
courtesy of Nothin' But Nets
Kevin Durant is somewhat of a "unicorn." He's a legit 7' foot tall player with amazing ball handling skills and one of the best pure shooters in the game. You can't guard KD! You can try but odds are he'll make you look like a fool. He can score in the paint, mid-range and bang out three-pointers. KD makes scoring 50 points look as easy as a Stephen Curry three. One of the biggest and best changes in his game has been his defensive effort. For a guy who shoots and scores so often, Durant has focused on his defensive game more over the past few seasons and has consistently improved.
There are two big knocks on Kevin Durant. First is the fact he joined a record breaking 73 win team in Golden State who had already won a title in order to win his own. The other is a more legit factor and that's his injury history. Durant looks like he walks on stilts sometimes with how often he suffers injuries. Not to mention he's built like a freshman in high school. KD only averages 66 out of the 82 games played in the regular season. Health and stability have to be variables when selecting the best players in NBA history.
Right now most of the rankings I've seen have Durant somewhere between #12 - #18 on the all time list. The question is if he can creep into the top 10 by the time his illustrious career comes to an end. Will people consider KD better than guys like Tim Duncan, Oscar Robertson, Kobe, Shaq, Bird or Hakeem Olajuwan? He'll never reach the status of Michael Jordan or LeBron James. He likely won't get to Magic's level or Kareem unless he wins a bunch of championships like Bill Russell who he may never surpass either.
At this very moment some believe that Steph Curry is a better player than Kevin Durant. I personally think KD is on a bit of a higher level, but nevertheless it is a debate. It seems the only way Kevin Durant will be considered for the top 10 best players in NBA history is by leading the Nets, or perhaps another team to at least 2 more titles. He has the numbers as one of the best scorers to ever touch a basketball and his all around game has improved on a yearly basis. When his future in the NBA has concluded, will Kevin Durant be a top 10 player of all time?
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