Basketball fans likely will debate forever Kevin Durant’s
decision to abandon building his own championship resume in Oklahoma City for
the juggernaut in Golden State.
What will be up to no debate is that Durant is going to go
down as one of the 15 best basketball players ever with a chance at the top 10.
Already, his five best seasons, which include three seasons
in OKC and the past two in Golden State, ranks 11th all-time. His
top 10 seasons ranks 23rd and that includes his injury shortened
2014-2015 season and 2008-2009 when he was just 20 and playing on a team that went
18-56. Durant will be 30 this year and the Warriors, barring something unforeseen,
are going to be title contenders for several more years. That’s going to improve
his 10-year standings and dramatically improve his career numbers.
What’s remarkable about Durant’s transition to Golden State
is that he joined one of the best teams in NBA history and they remade their
games to fit his. His points per game has remained the same, his rebounding
increased, his assists per game increased, his blocked shots increased and he’s
had the two best shooting seasons of his career. His advanced stats have
retreated slightly. His PER remained high, but his win shares and VORP are
slightly lower. The increased winning percentages and two NBA Finals MVPs have
offset the declines.
He hasn’t just latched on to a title team, he’s improved his game and made the Warriors as much his as they are Steph Curry’s.
He hasn’t just latched on to a title team, he’s improved his game and made the Warriors as much his as they are Steph Curry’s.
|
Kevin
Durant bio info
|
|
|
Career
|
2007-2018
|
|
Games
|
771
|
|
Points
|
27.1
|
|
Rebounds
|
7.1
|
|
Assists
|
3.9
|
|
FG Pct.
|
49.0%
|
|
All-Star games
|
9
|
|
NBA MVPs
|
1
|
|
NBA titles
|
2
|
|
Playoff seasons
|
8
|
|
Playoff games
|
127
|
|
Points
|
28.8
|
|
Rebounds
|
8.0
|
|
Assists
|
4.0
|
|
FG Pct.
|
47.1%
|
|
Hall of Fame
|
|
|
Top 100
rankings
|
||
|
|
Points
|
Top 100 ranking
|
|
1-year
|
390.59
|
21st
|
|
5-year
|
1,861.26
|
11th
|
|
10-year
|
2,928.88
|
23rd
|
|
Career
|
2,982.34
|
55th
|
|
Kevin
Durant at his peak
|
|||
|
2011-2012
|
Durant
|
Top 5
|
Points
|
|
PER
|
26.2
|
27.13
|
|
|
Win Shares
|
12.2
|
11.75
|
|
|
Box +/-
|
5.2
|
7.23
|
|
|
VORP
|
4.6
|
5.02
|
|
|
Total Advanced Stats
|
48.2
|
51.13
|
94.26
|
|
Playoff PER
|
27.5
|
25.71
|
|
|
Win Shares
|
4.0
|
3.60
|
|
|
Box +/-
|
7.3
|
7.63
|
|
|
VORP
|
2.0
|
1.91
|
|
|
Total Advanced Stats
|
40.8
|
38.85
|
105.01
|
|
Reg. Season Win %
|
71.21
|
71.21
|
|
|
Playoff Win %
|
65.00
|
65.00
|
|
|
MVP Voting (75 points)
|
889/1,210
|
55.10
|
|
|
Playoff MVP (25 points)
|
0
|
0
|
|
|
Total Score
|
|
|
390.59
|
|
Durant’s 10 greatest seasons
|
|
|
2011-2012
|
390.59
|
|
2013-2014
|
388.46
|
|
2012-2013
|
372.20
|
|
2016-2017
|
362.21
|
|
2017-2018
|
347.81
|
|
2010-2011
|
297.27
|
|
2015-2016
|
292.05
|
|
2009-2010
|
265.37
|
|
2014-2015
|
134.99
|
|
2008-2009
|
77.93
|
|
Career
winning percentage
|
|||
|
|
W
|
L
|
Pct.
|
|
Regular Season
|
474
|
297
|
61.48%
|
|
Playoffs
|
82
|
47
|
63.57%
|
No comments:
Post a Comment