Kevin Durant joins the 25,000 level membership
Earlier than Sunday, solely 22 gamers had reached the 25,000-point milestone within the historical past of the NBA. Kevin Durant turned the twenty third member of that membership with a 37-point efficiency in a 126-120 loss to the Boston Celtics. Durant has lengthy been seen by most as one of many biggest scorers the league has seen. Some folks would possibly even let you know he’s one of the best scoring menace we’ve ever witnessed.
The way in which I view Durant is that he’s probably the most dynamic scorer the NBA has ever produced. I don’t assume he’s one of the best, although. Sure, finest and dynamic nonetheless have completely different meanings. As a consequence of KD’s measurement and ball-handling expertise, he’s been capable of evolve his recreation in such a method that he can rating from any spot on the ground with ease. He may additionally be probably the most proficient scoring menace in any respect three ranges on the court docket.
I nonetheless rank Michael Jordan as one of the best, having received 10 scoring titles, averaging 30 or extra factors per recreation eight occasions, and doing so in an period the place you could possibly legally have your head taken off driving to the basket. Wilt Chamberlain received seven scoring titles and had a 50.4ppg season adopted by a 44.8ppg 12 months. George Gervin and Allen Iverson are the one different gamers with Jordan, Chamberlain, and Durant to take house 4 NBA scoring titles. That’s a reasonably unique checklist of gamers within the dialog of biggest scoring threats with Durant.
This 25k level milestone in all probability ought to have occurred a few years in the past for Durant, if not for him lacking vital components of various seasons. KD performed simply 27 video games through the 2014-15 season and missed all of 2019-20 (pandemic season) recovering from a torn Achilles.
“It’s fairly cool. I must be at 30 [thousand] proper now, to be sincere. However it’s cool, it’s cool to achieve that milestone and be amongst the greats. And I simply received to maintain pushing and hold going and see the place I find yourself,” Durant said.
No matter whether or not Durant ought to already be at 30k factors, his 4 scoring titles rank him amongst a number of the biggest ever to do it. It’s additionally humorous when scrolling down the all-time scorer’s list that the subsequent two energetic gamers behind KD in profession factors are James Harden (23,142) and Russell Westbrook (22,982). These three simply can’t escape one another and can without end be linked.
However for Durant, it’s not about factors anymore. The world is aware of he’ll proceed to rack them up, however now it’s about profitable one other title. That’s a part of why KD left Golden State for Brooklyn, to do it because the undisputed “man” on a championship staff. Say what you need about Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry. That Warriors staff was all the time Curry’s, and it doesn’t matter what KD achieved, it was all the time going to be Steph’s franchise.
Issues are trying fairly bleak in Brooklyn in the meanwhile, however all it takes is just a little mojo to get everyone on the identical web page on the identical time, and that championship for the Nets may turn out to be one thing tangible for KD to understand. Scoring all these factors is implausible, however Durant’s basketball legacy will finally come right down to rings. Durant nonetheless has time to win extra rings and alter the notion about his lack of management.
