The term ‘unicorn’ gets thrown around a lot in the NBA, but we’ve really never seen anyone like Kevin Durant. The Slim Reaper is one of the most unguardable players to ever lace them up.
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Durant has the skills of a guard but the height and basketball IQ to get his shot over anyone, from anywhere. And, during Friday’s game against the Blazers, KD, who now has 31,435 points, passed Wilt Chamberlain for seventh on the all-time NBA scoring list. Next up is Dirk Nowitzki (31,560), and as long as he stays healthy, he should pass the Mavericks legend within the next two weeks.
Durant has always been considered one of the greatest pure scorers the game has ever seen. After his latest milestone, the guys on the No Fouls Given podcast discussed where he ranks historically.
“As a scorer, you gotta put him in the top five, I think you have to,” Paul Pierce said. “With his longevity, with how he’s come in and redefined what a scorer is at 7-foot, with his ball-handling.”
There have been some incredible players over the years. So, to be ranked top five in terms of scoring ability is an honor for sure. But Danny Green thought Pierce should have gone even higher.
“I got him at number two, bro, right behind Michael Jeffrey Jordan,” said Green.
You know it’s serious when the middle names start coming out. Green compared Durant to players like Tracy McGrady, Carmelo Anthony, and James Harden, but said that the pure scoring ability and longevity set the two-time NBA champion apart.
Pierce countered by saying, “I mean, I can’t put KD over Kobe [Bryant], though.” That’s quite a compliment for a Celtic to give a Laker, but Pierce cited Kobe’s six 60-point games (Durant has zero) as evidence.
Both Kobe and KD are or were as close to unstoppable as any player has ever been. The argument comes down to volume vs. efficiency, with more than a little personal preference also mixed in.
Green said that he’d rather have Durant’s ability to go 50-40-90 over Kobe’s Mamba mentality. The Lakers legend’s relentless drive sometimes saw him “shooting until his arm fell off,” as cohost Wosny Lambre put it.
Durant, 37, will soon pass Dirk, and he’ll also probably catch MJ this year. His Airness is only 834 points ahead of him. If Durant can maintain his current average of 26.1 points per game, he’ll pass him in 32 games. The Rockets still have 46 games to go this season.
Kobe is fourth on the list, and passing him would be in play next year. After that, Karl Malone, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and LeBron James are going to take a bit more time.
