“Kevin Durant left Shaquille O’Neal and Hakeem Olajuwon behind”: Bill Simmons controversially calls Nets star a top-10 player of all time

Tonoy Sengupta | 22/06/2021
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Bill Simmons makes some incredibly controversial statements about Kevin Durant after his incredible performances against the Milwaukee Bucks. 

“Don’t you ever doubt Kevin Durant again.” That’s what every fan of the player is likely telling all his haters, and with good reason.

The Brooklyn Nets may have bounced out in the second round, but the Slim Reaper proved yet again, just why he is so deathly frightening to the NBA.

Against one of the top defensive teams in the NBA in Milwaukee, with a hurting and depleted supporting cast around him, KD still dominated.

He averaged 37.4 points, 12.0 rebounds, and 5.8 assists while shooting an efficient 47.9% from the field. And let’s not forget, amongst these numbers, is a 49-point triple-double, where the star essentially dragged his team to the dub in the game.

Durant, quite simply, has reminded everyone of just how impossible a player he is. And like many in the NBA community, Bill Simmons has been forced to reconsider the Nets’ star’s ranking on the all-time list. And frankly, it isn’t one we see many agreeing with.

Also Read: Shaquille O’Neal proves yet again why he’s a better human being than NBA player

Bill Simmons puts Kevin Durant above the likes of Shaq and Hakeem in his all-time NBA players’ list

And no, that’s not the controversial part.

The thing is, even before his tremendous performances against the Bucks, there was a ton of controversy around the potential ranking of Durant. Some believed he was already a top-5 player all time. Others thought he shouldn’t eve n be sniffing the top-15.

And so, after his showings in this series, there was only more fuel put to the fire. The NBA community has been arguing endlessly over where the player belongs. And when Bill Simmons chose to spoke on the same topic, it just increased the ruckus that much more. Here is what he said.

“I thought Durant was unbelievable in this Bucks/Nets series, I moved him up in my all-time rankings. I have him 10th above Shaq, Moses, Hakeem. The shot-making is just better now than in the 80s/90s. Durant should have had 4 rings (adding 2019 and 2021),”

Top-10 frankly doesn’t quite sound right for Kevin Durant, and there is a reason for that.

No arguments until now have merely left him at such a neutral position. And given how the NBA community has hankering on either drag him further up to top-5 or pulling him further down to top-25, we can’t really see many agreeing with the reputed NBA analyst.

Just our two cents though, perhaps the star warrants a top-7 selection by now.

Also Read: Warriors head coach Steve Kerr supports his MVP’s decision of not representing Team USA at the 2021 Olympics

Post Edited By: Amulya Shekhar
Bill Simmons Brooklyn Nets James Harden Kevin Durant kyrie irving Milwaukee Bucks NBA Shaquille O'Neal

About the author

Tonoy Sengupta

Tonoy Sengupta

Tonoy Sengupta is a Senior Editor at The SportsRush. Coming from an athletically inclined family, he has been surrounded by sports ever since he was 4 years old. But, while initially pouring all his time into Football (soccer), at 14, Tonoy discovered basketball through the countless highlights of Stephen Curry humiliating players from Curry Land. And just like that, a fiery passion for the game was ignited within Tonoy. And soon after, he decided to become a student of journalism, graduating in 2022, and choosing sports as his area of interest. Today, you can find him spending 99% of his time browsing through every type of content on every team in the NBA, before uncorking everything he has found to the world. In the 1% he isn't doing this, you can find him playing Basketball, Football, Volleyball, or practically any other sport he has had the opportunity to learn.

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