“Kevin Durant has never missed the playoffs after age 20?!”: A fascinating stat about the Easy Money Sniper confounds NBA Reddit after Brooklyn Nets seal 7th seed in 2022 NBA playoffs

Kevin Durant seems to have found his best footing after turning 20 and lighting the NBA up with his scoring exploits over the years.

Kevin Durant and his Nets team seem to have gathered enough momentum to now be considered favorites in their first-round series. The Boston Celtics currently have the momentum in terms of regular season wins.

However, the star power is now squarely in Long Island after the return of Kyrie Irving to their starting lineup. Irving has also started putting his best foot forward in terms of shooting whenever and against whoever he likes.

His perfect first half today ensured that Brooklyn had the momentum against his first team – the one that drafted him. And the Cleveland Cavaliers now find themselves lying in wait of the victor of this morning’s play-in game between Charlotte and Atlanta.

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Kevin Durant hasn’t missed the playoffs since the age of 20: NBA Twitter and Reddit react

Kevin Durant has only been on 1 team to miss the playoffs after his sophomore year. He averaged 27.2 points per game in the 2008-09 NBA season. His first scoring title came right during his rookie scale contract, in just his 3rd year.

Since that 2009-10 season, when the OKC Thunder got knocked out by the Lakers in the first round, KD has not personally missed a single playoff year. When the Thunder subsequently missed the playoffs back in 2014-15, it was mainly because of his absence.

NBA Reddit has duly noted this statistical anomaly – something very rare even for the greatest NBA superstars. For comparison sake, Kobe Bryant missed the playoffs in the 2004-05 season – his first without Shaquille O’Neal.

The biggest fear that the Brooklyn Nets had going into this season was regarding the long-term future of their 3 superstars. Now that James Harden is gone and Kyrie Irving seems committed to the city for the long term, that stress is gone.

What it also means is that instead of merely making the playoffs, Kevin Durant can focus on winning his 3rd NBA championship.

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