There may not be an athlete in sports more fascinating than Kevin Durant. Undoubtedly one of the greatest to ever play, KD has been a lightning rod throughout his career, just as much for his actions off the court as his play on it.
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His decision to join the Golden State Warriors back in 2016 is still hotly debated, but it led to two titles and two Finals MVP awards. KD has been great everywhere he’s gone — from the Seattle SuperSonics/OKC Thunder to the Warriors, the Brooklyn Nets, and now the Phoenix Suns — but he’s never found anything close to the same team success since leaving the Bay Area.
Perhaps the number of championships to his name compared to his potential to have won more, prompted him to say with typical brutal honesty that he “underachieved” in his career. He was commenting on an Instagram post that was celebrating his career highs. And this self-critique comes despite him leading some of the game’s legends in a telling playoff stat.
Regardless of the number of championship rings won, Durant has certainly played his best when it mattered most. He holds the NBA record for Game 7 points per game with 36.2. That’s better than Michael Jordan, his Olympic teammates LeBron James and Steph Curry, and everyone else who’s ever played the game.
Being ranked ahead of MJ in any category, let alone playoff clutchness, is proof of greatness. Jordan has six rings and is considered the clutchest athlete in history, so KD is in rare air indeed.
Some players, even great ones, have one or two standout seasons in their career, but Durant’s 17 seasons have been marked by an unbelievable consistency. He has put up 25 points or more per game in every year since his rookie season with no worse than a 47-35-84 shooting split.
Durant has always been his own harshest critic. Just last week, he turned up on a post appreciating his accomplishments to say, “I still underachieved in my career. Should’ve been 30 ppg, shoulda shot higher than 47-35-88.”
Imagine being one of the most unstoppable pure scorers the game has ever seen and a future first-ballot Hall of Famer and feeling like you underachieved? That’s the kind of mentality that makes the great ones great.
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It also has a lot to do with the earnestness with which he looks at basketball. KD credits the game with giving him and his family everything, and he tries to give back whenever he can.
Who can forget when he showed up at Rucker Park and dropped 66 points during the 2011 lockout? His Durant Family Foundation, which he founded with his mom (the real MVP, as we all know), provides educational, athletic and social programs to at-risk kids from low-income backgrounds.
Now, Durant’s legendary career is about to take another twist.
Another trade on the horizon for Durant
KD is expected to be traded from the Phoenix Suns this offseason. Many pundits are also expecting the Houston Rockets to make a run at him, though they’re thought to be one of the favorites for Giannis Antetokounmpo also.
A return to OKC and the franchise where he started his career could also be possible.
Wherever KD ends up, fans should recognize that he’s a true one of one and embrace what could be one of the final chapters of his career. There may not be a player alive who loves the game more than Durant, and we’re all lucky to have been a part of his journey.
