Kevin Durant is not a top 15 player, and is barely top 20. He is unique, because many have tried to rank him high – putting him Top 10 (and there was a period of time where people wanted to put him top 5 when they thought he was going to win with the Nets).
But KD is arguably not even top 20, let alone Top 15.
The reality is that Kevin Durant is a player whose legacy was largely inflated for much of his career.
He is an impeccable scorer, good defender, and below average playmaker. But because he spent 2009-2021 playing with at least 1 MVP combo guard (Westbrook, Harden, Curry), his flaws as a bad playmaker were never exposed early enough. So he was able to get clean looks or favorable matchups, which helped his scoring output. If he had to deal with heavy defensive attention, would we be praising him as a great player as much?
When did Kevin Durant Surpass Dirk?
When did he surpass Dirk and Kevin Garnett… let alone Dr J, Isaiah Thomas, Jerry West, and Oscar Robertson?
Dirk Nowitzki had probably the greatest title run ever, beating almost every top 10 player in the league and BEATING the Super Team in the Finals.
(credit goes to whoever made the image: https://www.reddit.com/r/Mavericks/comments/1n8dxxy/legendary_run_by_dirk_and_the_squad_dirk_was/)
How does Durant joining a 70-win team that just made 2 straight finals, and winning them, make him better than Dirk? Durant joined a championship team. Dirk made his team into champions.
How is Durant better than KG? Compare the teammates they had.
Durant played with the following outside of the Warriors years:
- Westbrook
- Harden
- Ibaka
- Kyrie
- Harden again
- Booker
- CP3
And got ZERO rings with them.
Meanwhile KG’s best teammates outside of the Celtics years were:
- Sam Cassell
- Wally Szczerbiak
- Latrell Sprewell
- Stephon Marbury
- Isaiah Joe
? I mean come on, it’s not even close. KG had to be his team’s best defender, and playmaker, and their best scorer during his Minnesota years.
Meanwhile for KD, the majority of the time he only had to be their best scorer. He played with so much more talent in his career, yet only won 1 more ring than KG did – by joining a 70 win team that already won before he got there.
KG formed the big 3 Celtics with Pierce and Allen – when they were all in their 30s. Durant and Curry were both 28 when they joined forces. But again, Curry and the Warriors were already champions and almost won a 2nd title in a row. Meanwhile the 2007 Celtics were a 20-win team that had to start from scratch.
Both played in very tough conferences, so that excuse is a wash.
Even other legends. You may prefer KD’s skill set to guys like Isiah Thomas, but as overall team leaders, and leading their teams to rings? Isiah is still clearly ahead.
Don’t forget how bad David Robinson’s teammates were.
The reality is that even the current superstars – Jokic, Giannis, Tatum, SGA, and Luka – all have chances to surpass KD very soon. Jokic already carried his team more than Durant ever has. Tatum is a machine, has a LOT of volume stats (including playoff stats), a lot of playoff wins, has a chip – and is still playing. And SGA has a ring and 2 MVPs (even though he is a fraud superstar).
Kevin Durant’s Fraud Rings
Kevin Durant is Top 15? Why, because he joined a 73 win team with a back-to-back MVP winner who already won a ring just 12 months before he joined? Because he played well in those finals, we have to pretend he is greater? That’s like calling someone who uses training wheels the best cyclist. It’s like someone cheating on a test and calling them smart.
Yes, that is literally the equivalent of what KD did. He joined a team that already won a championship, and won with them. And he did that while in his prime. That doesn’t make you greater than you are.
A LOT of players could have won rings if they did that in their primes.
Imagine if Karl Malone joined the 98 Bulls.
Imagine if Jordan joined the 87 Celtics or 89 Pistons after losing to them.
But the quality of your rings matter too. Jordan isn’t the GOAT just because he won rings – it was because he was obviously the undisputed best player on his team, and he helped make his Bulls teams that much better.
LeBron gets GOAT consideration because again, he was the undisputed top dog on his team.
Durant? He was literally playing alongside an MVP who beat him the year before, won a ring before him, and won another ring after him. And who is one of the greats to ever play.
Where should Durant be ranked?
Durant is pretty much top 20 at best.
For a basic list:
Jordan, LeBron, Kareem, Magic, Bird, Wilt, Russell, Duncan, Shaq, Steph, Kobe, Hakeem are 12. If you have Isiah Thomas, that’s 13. And then if you have the 2010s forwards, that’s KG and Dirk. That makes 15.
Then you have legends like Julius Erving and Jerry West that have rings, and are superior playmakers. Oscar Robertson too. KD might edge them out if we are being generous.
Then you have contemporary players that are arguably around the same level, arguably have stronger rings, and/or have strong chances to surpass him in the future. Jokic, Giannis, and then guys like SGA and Tatum.
You have Charles Barkley with a very similar career – imagine if Barkley joined the Bulls at age 29 and played 3 years with Jordan. That’s basically what KD did.
And above all else, you have Durant’s former teammates in James Harden and Russell Westbrook, whose career accomplishments would be scarily similar to Kevin Durant’s if he didn’t join the Golden State Warriors. So it is not even accurate to say Durant is clearly better than those guys.James Harden was able to average 30 points a game while facing heavy defensive attention in Houston.
So KD at best is 16th. Could already be put down to 18th if you give the. And may fall down to 20th as his post-Golden State career continues to show flaws in his game that were largely covered up playing with super-teams and near-super teams for much of his career.
